Naruto and Sasuke: Switched
by Snakeking888
Summary: What would it be like if Sasuke was much nicer in the beginning, and Naruto wasn't nice at all. Based on the sixth chapter of hiyuusha's what if story.
1. Switched

Number 6: What if things really were switched between Naruto and Sasuke?

Sasuke Uchiha, sole survivor of the Uchiha Clan… wielder of the powerful Sharingan, and most promising candidate for Rookie-of-the-year. Years earlier he had been subject to witness the fall of his clan, by the hands of his own brother no less. No one knew of what was said between them, but whatever it was had produced miracles for the boy's growth, pushing him to limits beyond what any academy student should have been capable of. As he ran his hand in his dark hair, he sighed, sending a wary glance to his two future teammates.

His eyes first landed on the pink-haired kunoichi sitting patiently beside him. Sakura Haruno, a member of a civilian family, relatively average kunoichi skills, and esteemed "rival of love". The girl was supposedly skilled in Genjutsu, but having little interaction with her outside of class, Sasuke wasn't sure whether these claims held any merit.

Then of course, there was the last member of the team. _Him…_ the blonde shinobi glaring at the others from the back of the room, his headband dangling nonchalantly from the top of his head, as if he didn't even care about what it stood for. His name was Naruto Uzumaki, also known as monster, also known as demon brat… also known as… Sasuke stopped, having long lost track of all the words the villagers used to describe the blonde. He had never known what the boy had done to receive such treatment from the village, but he never bothered to get close enough to ask. Still, there was something about him that just screamed danger, and even the great prodigy was wary around the boy, believing that if it came down to an all-out scuffle, he would lose.

Turning his eyes forward once more, he awaited the arrival of their sensei-to-be, one Kakashi Hatake. He didn't know what to expect from the Jounin, but if the fact he was running well over an hour late for their first meeting said anything about him, Sasuke wasn't going to hold high expectations.

The door slid open, and a silver-haired man wearing a dark mask covering most of his face poked his head inside. The man sighed, as if expecting something to happen, but nonetheless continued onward.

"I suppose you three are the Genin of Team 7?" he asked slowly, earning a curt nod from Sakura and Sasuke. Naruto, as usual, merely eyed the man, as if taking in everything about him.

"How do I put this…" the man trailed off, looking up towards the ceiling, "I really… dislike you guys."

A twitch of the eye… a clenched hand… and utter silence…. Each member of the team had reacted in different ways. The man smiled at the three of them, pulling a small orange book from his pocket and flipping the page. "Meet me on the roof; we'll continue our discussion there."

It hadn't taken long to arrive. As the three approached the man, who was now seated comfortably reading his book, Sakura spoke.

"So, are you supposed to be our sensei?"

"We'll see, won't we." The man smiled once more, gesturing for the three to sit, "Why don't we all introduce ourselves… after all, nothing like a brief moment of bonding between teammates eh? Likes, dislikes and dreams for the future."

Sasuke and Sakura shot each other short looks before turning back to the man.

"Umm… sensei? Why don't you show us how it's done first?" the rosette asked, prodding the ground beside her in embarrassment.

"Alright," the man sighed, putting his book away, "My name is Kakashi Hatake, I have some likes and a few dislikes… dreams for the future…." He trailed off, looking to the sky once more, "Alright then, your turn, pinky."

_But he only told us his name!_ the three thought, even Naruto glared at the man.

"My name is Sakura Haruno," the girl started, deciding to just get it over with, "I like…" she shot a quick glance at Sasuke, who turned to smile at her. Blushing, she quickly turned her face forward to face Kakashi once more, "I dislike Ino-pig!" she said hotly, "and my dream for the future is…" she blushed, looking at Sasuke once more.

_As expected then…_ Kakashi sighed, "Alright then, you there, the blonde."

Naruto glared at the man, his hands folded in front of his face angrily as he spoke, "Naruto Uzumaki." He said darkly, getting straight to the point, "My likes are none of your business… I dislike this village. My dream for the future… is irrelevant at this time."

_Man… what a pessimist…_ Kakashi thought, _I might have to do something about that mean streak…_ he pointed to Sasuke, "And last but not least…"

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha." The boy said with a smile, "I like tomatoes and taking walks. My dislikes… I dislike traitors…" he said with a frown, "and… my dream for the future…" he grinned, "I want to protect this village, and prevent anything like the Uchiha Massacre from happening again!"

* * *

**And there it is… I tried to style Naruto after a less homicidal Gaara, hope it turned out alright. As for Sasuke, I feel that perhaps if Itachi hadn't been so focused on the "use your hatred" and didn't Tsukiyomi Sasuke every time they met he might've ended up more like this. After all, he did seem to be getting better during the Chunin Exam Arc, even going so far as to say he didn't want to see anyone/comrades die in front of him again. Sakura's the same for the most part, though she might have an easier time getting Sasuke to go on a date. Kakashi will probably take his job a little more seriously, though probably not too much. Anyway, thanks for reading, and if you want to, review!**

* * *

**Hey, it's me Snakeking, I was impressed by hiyuusha, and he said I could work on this story, along with chapters 1&4 of his What If? story. I hope I can live up to his standards.**

**I know that I still have my current Teen Titans story to work on but I've been hitting a lot of walls.**

**Pros of continuing a story from where canon leaves off: It's basically an open canvas that's yours to do with as you please.**

**Cons of continuing a story from where canon leaves off: You're bound to run out of ideas sooner or later.**

**Pros of creating an AU story: It's all been laid out and you just have to re-work it.**

**Cons of creating an AU story: You have to re-work it enough so it's not just re-telling the canon story.**

**I've been reading different AU (Alternate Universe for novices) Naruto stories and I thought I would try a few out for myself. I'm also into stories where Naruto is: dark, evil, just vicious, or all three.**

**If I make naruto viciously insult and/or think poorly of someone, it has nothing to do with any personal character preferences, I'm trying to make him act like he would if he was, as hiyuusha put it, "a less homicidal Gaara," though he will still have some of his own cocky personality.**

**I'm not bashing, and I would appreciate it if nobody bashed me.**


	2. Reactions

**Switched**

_**Chapter 2: Reactions**_

Just a few disclaimers: I don't own Naruto, _I wish I did_. Also, I'm trying to avoid character bashing that come from my own opinions, the bashing will be from the characters' points of view. And I know you're probably thinking, "Nice try," or "Who are you trying to fool?" If you like to think the bashings are from my perspective, go ahead, but they're not. Also, no hate filled reviews. Like I've said before, phrase them in a friendly, non-threatining manner. We're all civilized here right? Right?

**Key**: _Italics=Thought_

If Naruto is talking to Kurama and the text isn't in _italics_, he's talking to him while in his mind, not while he's outside.

* * *

Naruto couldn't believe his luck. He'd been paired with the two people he couldn't stand the most. The Haruno girl may have had the highest test scores in the Academy, but her combat skills left _much_ to be desired. He noticed how, like practically every other girl in the academy with the exception of Hinata, she would get hearts in her eyes any and every time the last Uchiha would just make a passing appearance.

The Uchiha. Naruto never really knew what made him hate that name so much; what made him despise that wretched clan's kekkai genkai: the Sharingan; what drove him to thinking of pulling their disgusting eyes out and to crush them in his hands. That was until recently, when he learned why he became an orphan. He could only guess that that nine-tailed bastard had something against that clan, but it wasn't like he would tell a kid.

_Some clan, they were all slaughtered in a single night, so much for the 'mighty Uchiha._ Naruto thought to himself.

He unlocked the door to his dingy little apartment that old man Sarutobi managed to provide him with. Their joke of a jonin sensei had told them that he would have some sort of special test for them tomorrow. Wasn't he supposed to be done with tests after he graduated the Academy? The village council may have been doing it just to keep him from going anywhere. They had no doubt that two of the best students of his year would pass no problem, and the dead last demon brat would fail without question.

* * *

Sasuke entered his house, use to always finding it empty. Many times the Third Hokage offered to set him up in an apartment in Konoha, like Naruto. But each time Sasuke refused. He would sooner die than let Itachi get to him, sending him running like a helpless puppy. He only owned his family's house, the rest of the Uchiha compound was boarded up, never to be used, out of respect for the mighty clan, and out of fear of the ghosts that haunted the old buildings.

Kakashi-sensei came off as a little _odd_, but if he was a jonin, then he must have some skills in the shinobi arts. As for the rest of his team, he wasn't really sure how to describe them. Sakura apparently was one of the smartest kunoichi of their generation, and her knowledge would no doubt be a valuable asset. As for Uzumaki, he couldn't come up with a reason. His skills at the Academy were subpar from what he'd seen. He always missed most of the targets in the shuriken throws, his chakra control was abysmal; he heard in passing from Mizuki-sensei, who was talking to another Academy instructor, that during the graduation exam, the clone the blond created looked like it was about to die from some terminal disease, and he could only guess at his test scores from when the other students would laugh at him when they got their tests back.

_What did Naruto do deserve to be treated the way he was? _The best guess he could make was that someone from his clan had done something really bad. There were no other Uzumaki that lived in the village. At least none that were shinobi. Maybe an Uzumaki had done something so bad that it blacklisted their clan forever.

* * *

Sakura was ecstatic that night. She had been placed on a team with Sasuke. She also remembered that she was also paired up with that odd blond kid Naruto.

Iruka-sensei said that teams were formed with the worst students often being paired with the best students, to even things out. She already knew that Naruto was terrible, but she wouldn't let that bring down her spirits. Their jonin sensei didn't seem to be, _there_ that much.

Mebuki Haruno and her husband Kizashi were sitting down while enjoying some tea. She noticed her daughter's great increase in mood.

"So how did things go today Sakura?" she asked.

"We got our teams' today mom."

"So whose team are you on?" Kizashi asked.

"I was put on the same team as Sasuke."

"The Uchiha, well I guess you're the lucky one, most kids your age would sell their houses to be on the same team as an Uchiha, let alone the last Uchiha. And your other teammate?"

"Oh, Naruto Uzumaki is also on my team." Sakura saw that her father's usual carefree attitude had instantly dropped at the mention of the village pariah. Mebuki still had her serious mood on her face, but her eyes held something that her daughter rarely ever saw. Fear.

"Is everything alright?"

"So that Uzumaki child is on your team." It wasn't a question.

"Is there something you guys know that I don't?"

"It's something that's older than you dear, and something we are not allowed to speak about by decree of the Third Hokage."

Sakura wanted to ask more, but she knew that if the Third Hokage wanted something to be a secret, than it would be best not to probe.

* * *

Naruto's alarm clock woke him up early the next morning, before being thrown against a wall.

He placed a cup of instant ramen in the microwave. Their baka sensei told them to skip breakfast or else they'd puke. Did he really take Naruto for that much of a fool.

* * *

At the Third Training Ground, Sasuke and Sakura arrived at the same time, still tired from having to come so early.

Naruto was already there, and sleeping while propped up against a tree.

In the middle of the field were three logs that were placed into the ground; Sasuke took the one in the middle while Sakura took one of the end ones.

"Is it just me, or does something about him strike you as odd?" Sakura asked.

"You mean besides that orange 'kill me' suit." Sasuke was able to get a laugh out of the rosette. She soon stopped laughing. "When I told my parents he was on our team, they seemed to actually be afraid. They told me that they couldn't tell me because of some rule that the Third Hokage passed."

"I've sometimes heard the older villagers talk about him vaguely, but when they noticed me, they just stopped. I've heard them call him 'monster,' and 'demon brat.'"

"What do you think he did?"

Sasuke could only give her his best guess. "Maybe someone from his clan did something really bad to the village. Have you ever heard of any Uzumaki in Konoha?"

"No."

About an hour and a half later, Kakashi-sensei finally showed up. "Hey there guys, sorry I'm late, but a black cat crossed my path, so I had to go on a longer route to get here."

_Black cat my ass, he probably forgot what he was supposed to do, pathetic_, Naruto thought. Sakura and Sasuke weren't buying the excuse either.

"Well, let's get started then." Kakashi placed a small alarm clock on one of the posts. "Your assignment today: to take these bells from me." Kakashi held out two bells in his right hand.

"That's it?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, there's more of a catch to it than you think. If you don't get one of these bells before noon, you'll have to miss lunch. The ones that fail will be tied to those posts, and watch me eat my lunch."

_Ha, good thing I had breakfast today_, Naruto thought as Sasuke's and Sakura's stomachs growled.

"But if there are three of us, why are there two bells?" Sakura questioned.

"Because, there'll be at least two of you that pass, the one that ends up tied to the posts will be disqualified, and sent back to the academy."

"WHAT?!" all of them screamed at once.

"But we worked hard to get here; what was that graduation test about?" Sasuke asked.

"That was just a test to decide potential genin. Of the 27 that passed, only 9 will be made true genin, the rest will be sent back to the Academy, that's the way it works."

_I'm not going back to that dump! I'll take those bells even if I have to tear his flesh off to get them!_

_If I fail, I'll lose Sasuke, I can't let that happen, this is a test of love!_

_I'm not going to let anything stop me._

"You're allowed to use any ninjutsu you know against me; you can also use shuriken and kunai."

"But sensei, those weapons are too dangerous," Sakura said.

"That's the point, if we don't go at him as if we were ready to kill him, there's no way we'll pass. Are you sure you got the best test scores in the Academy," Naruto said with a sneer.

_HE'LL PAY FOR THAT, CHA!_ Inner Sakura screamed.

"Yes, Naruto's right, if you don't treat this like a real take no prisoners mission, you'll lose. When I say begin, begin. Ready?" Each of the genin tensed up. "Begin." Naruto drew several kunai from the pouch on his belt and hurled them at the silver haired man. Each of them landed their marks. In a puff of smoke, the Kakashi standing dead in front of them was replaced by a log with the same kunai embedded into it.

"What?! A substitution jutsu."

"Surprise surprise." Kakashi was holding Naruto's right hand, which had another kunai in it, right behind his head.

_He was so fast we didn't even see him_, Sasuke thought.

_So this fool is a jonin_.

"Shinobi battle tactics number one, taijutsu, physical combat." Kakashi let go of Naruto's wrist and jumped back fifteen feet. He reached into the pouch on his left side.

_If he's using taijutsu, why is he reaching for a weapon_, Sakura thought to herself.

What Kakashi pulled out wasn't a kunai, or a shuriken, or even a senbon needle. It was a little orange book with the picture of a man and a woman on it.

"What the..."

Kakashi flipped to a marked page and started reading.

"What are you doing, aren't you going to attack us? Why are you just reading that book?" Sakura said.

"Because I want to see what happens, don't worry none of your attacks are really anything to worry about, so I can just read this and not worry." Sasuke recognized that book. He sometimes saw the men in Konoha reading books just like that. Judging by the way they giggled like school girls, and the giant 'R' on the cover, he guessed it was something not meant for kids his age.

Naruto recognized the book as well; he would sometimes walk in on Old Man Sarutobi in the middle of reading it with rapt attention; before he slammed it in a padlocked drawer in his desk.

Sakura only guessed what the book was about from the 'R' stamped into it, and how when she was little, her mother would block her view of book stands when they passed by them while they were out shopping.

_Great, we have a pervert for a sensei_, Naruto thought.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and attack."

Instead of attacking, each of them disappeared into the trees around them.

_Hm, smarter than they look. They decided to hide rather than face me head on._

Naruto hid himself behind a branch in a tree, while Sasuke was standing behind a tree, and Sakura was on the ground in a bush near the Uchiha.

_Figures she'd be anywhere near him._

"Naruto."

Naruto looked down to see the Leaf Prodigy whispering to him.

"I think we need to work together to get those bells."

"Hmph, you two can work together, I'm not lowering myself to help the likes of you." Naruto disappeared deep into the woods.

_That idiot, there's no way 'he' can take Kakashi-sensei on his own_, Sakura thought.

Soon, an orange blur shot out from behind Kakashi, his uncovered eye following it. Next, more orange blurs shot out of the trees.

_Wha, shadow clones?_ Both of the hidden genin noticed the leaves and branches that were displaced from where the Narutos jumped out.

_Those aren't just illusions, they're real solid copies_, Sakura thought.

_But how, I've heard that that technique requires the user to equally distribute their chakra among each clone, so a genin could die from just making one, but Naruto can make, one, two, four, seven copies of himself and still stand_, Sasuke thought

_So he can use that jutsu, and if that's true, than he really did defeat Mizuki with it._

Two of the Narutos charged at Kakashi, a kunai in the hands of each one. Both made an upward thrusting motion with the knives. However, Kakashi performed a sweep kick on the clone to his right, and threw a kunai in the face of the other one. Both clones disappeared with a pop.

"KILL HIM!" The Naruto in the back yelled. The five remaining Narutos jumped into the air to do an ax kick at the silver-haired jonin. But before they could hit the ground, each of them disappeared in a '_POOF_'. Kakashi was in midair with a kunai in his free hand. He landed on the ground, still reading his orange book.

"Impressive use of the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but you do know several ways I could tell you were the real Naruto. One, you were standing behind the rest of the clones, coordinating their attacks, normally this would be the smartest thing to do, but you were standing out in the open. Second, you screamed 'kill him,' and they obeyed without question. Third, you were the only one that didn't jump to attack me."

Naruto's anger was quickly growing from how his sensei seemed to be talking down to him like one of those scum instructors from the Academy.

"Fine, you want better use, I'll give it to you! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Two Narutos appeared on either side of him. Each of them formed the clone hand seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" each of them yelled. Two Narutos appeared for each one.

_This can't be happening, he keeps throwing in clones like cheap kunai, and he doesn't even look like he's exhausted. How?_ Sasuke and Sakura thought.

"How's this sensei?" one of the clones said.

_Great, now I won't be able to read Make-Out Paradise._

Each clone threw shuriken into the air, littering the clear blue sky with gray steel. Kakashi took a kunai in each hand and started deflecting the shuriken with blinding speed. The ground around him became littered with fallen shuriken.

_He's distracted! _"Sakura get back," he whispered. Sasuke's hands became a blur of motion. Horse → Tiger → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger. _Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_ Sasuke shot out a giant fire ball directly at Kakashi. It swept up the surrounding shuriken, blowing them towards him. In the burning crater left by the fire jutsu, was a charred log.

_Another Substitution Jutsu_, Sasuke darted from where he stood, running through the trees.

_Great, now he knows where I was, gotta move._

_Impressive, not many genin can perform fire style jutsu, but then again he is an Uchiha_, Kakashi thought while hidden in the brush.

* * *

Naruto looked around frantically after the fireball jutsu dissipated. Stupid Uchiha, he could've gotten him killed with that. He received the memories of the clones that had been hit by stray shuriken that had been superheated by the katon jutsu.

_Baka-sensei could be anywhere._ Naruto again used the clone jutsu to make twelve clones. "Circle up! Whirlpool Formation!" The clones did as they were told, forming a circle around their creator.

"Demonic Illusion: Death Mirage Jutsu." Leaves started to dance around Naruto. Soon everything became a hazy blur. The clones around him started to dissipate, but he didn't even notice. He started to regain himself.

"Show yourself you coward!" he yelled into the air. Hearing footsteps he turned around to find the entire village surrounding him.

"There's the demon!" A white eyed man said.

"KILL HIM!" the Third Hokage announced.

The villagers charged at the genin, pitchforks and torches in hand.

"Get away! GET AWAY!" Naruto screamed.

_ENOUGH!_ The voice rang like a bell in Naruto's head.

The villagers around him started to flicker where they stood. They started to move like rippling water. They became transparent, until they completely disappeared.

_What just happened?_

_I happened_, the voice said again.

Naruto flinched like he'd been struck. He found himself in what looked like a sewer. There was water everywhere and pipes ran across the ceiling. In front of him was a giant gate. The only thing on the gate was a small seal with the kanji for 'seal.' Behind the gate was a pair of giant red eyes and a mouth full of viciously pointed teeth.

"So, you're the Nine-Tails? The one who's made my life a living hell."

"It's not like I asked to be sealed inside your wretched body."

"What just happened? I know you had something to do with this?"

"I suppose that it is important to know what you are. You are a jinchuuriki, a human sacrifice. My kind have the ability to dispel genjutsu that entraps our hosts."

"Wait? 'Your kind,' that means that there are more of you."

"Yes, there are eight others, with tails ranging from one to eight, none of them are stronger than me. We have all been enslaved by your worthless species. I was sealed inside of you by your wretched Fourth Hokage."

"Huh, looks like we share a common hate."

"Just so you know, this was a one time deal. If you ever hear from me, it'll only be to save your worthless life."

"Why, have you grown attached to me?" Naruto mocked.

"Hardly, if you die, then I die, and I don't know about you, but my life is worth far more."

"Then I guess we'll agree to disagree."

Naruto saw the chamber grow hazy, and soon he was back in the clearing.

When he looked at the clock that Kakashi-sensei placed on the post, he saw that he was only talking to the fox for about three minutes.

_Can't waste any time, gotta move fast_, Naruto shadowblurred through the forest, only stopping when he noticed Sasuke and Sakura.

_This should be interesting_, Naruto jumped off a branch closer to the two and transformed himself into a rock.

* * *

Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw movement in the trees. Next to him was Sakura, kunai in one hand, and shuriken in the other.

"Where do you think Kakashi-sensei's hiding?" Sakura asked.

"Where you least expect." A hand shot out of the ground and latched itself around Sakura's ankle. "Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!" Kakashi pulled Sakura into the ground, leaving only her head above the surface. "A ninja must see underneath the underneath, both physically and mentally."

Naruto did all he could to keep the Transformation Jutsu going, and not to break out in a fit of laughter. But it was all in vain. He was on his knees laughing, no longer henged as a rock.

"QUIT LAUGHING YOU KNUCKLEHEAD!" Sakura screamed.

"You... you should see... how stupid you look," Naruto tried to say through fits of laughter.

"Naruto this isn't funny, help me get Sakura out of here," Sasuke said. He got on the ground and started using his kunai to tear away at the dirt. Sakura forgot about the laughing blond when she saw Sasuke helping her. Helping her.

"How noble, though in a real fight, you all would've had kunai lodged in your brains by now." Kakashi appeared in the clearing in front of them.

In the distance, they could hear the timer ringing. It was noon.

"Well, looks like you all failed."

Those words stopped Naruto's laughing. All he felt know was rage. Rage at the Fourth Hokage for cursing him; rage at the Third Hokage for never doing anything more to help him, and rage at about everyone in all of Konohagakure; specifically this white haired masked jonin.

* * *

By the time they got Sakura out of the ground, a half-hour had passed. Back at the Memorial Stone Sakura had been the only one tied to the posts. The right one to be exact.

_I don't even want to think about if that was me tied there,_ Naruto thought.

How come we're not tied up sensei? None of us managed to get a bell." Sasuke asked.

"Because, out of all three of you, Sakura was the only one that didn't fight me head on, therefore she gets a zero for participation. You and Naruto didn't get a bell, but you did fight me." Kakashi never took his eye off of his little orange book.

"On second thought, none of you failed." Each of the three genin were dumbstruck.

"You mean we pass?"

"No you didn't pass, but you didn't fail, you've just been pulled from the program." Each of the kids felt like they had a kunai lodged in their hearts.

"You can't do that! You said that if we didn't get a bell then we'd just get sent back to the Academy, now you're saying that we're not even able to become ninja anymore! You can't just make up rules on the fly!" Naruto yelled.

_He's definitely Kushina's son_, Kakashi thought.

"You don't even know the first thing about being shinobi! It's not some game. Naruto, you refused Sasuke's offer to help, then went off on your own, thinking they weren't worth your time. Sasuke, you just gave up on Naruto, yes he went off on his own, but sometimes you must help your teammates, even if they don't want it. Sakura, you stayed with Sasuke while not even considering helping Naruto out. Teammates are never to show favoritism among each other. For instance."

In a white blur, Kakashi had Sasuke and Naruto pinned to the center post with a kunai held to each of their necks. "Sakura! Choose who dies, Naruto or Sasuke!"

The rosette looked like she was about to faint.

"See, that's what happens in the line of duty. A shinobi always goes into battle knowing that it may be their last mission. Those that sacrifice themselves for their team are honored with their names put on this stone." Kakashi walked over to the blue stone. "My closest friends have their names on this stone." He could still see the half of Obito's face that wasn't crushed, and the look on Rin's face as he ran his Chidori through her. The faces that would haunt his nightmare's until his own death.

"I'll give you one more chance."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked.

"You'll get another chance to pass this test after lunch. But no one can feed Sakura."

_Fine by me_, Naruto thought.

_I really wish I at least had dinner last night._

Naruto greedily eyed his lunch tray. Before he could dig in Kakashi spoke, "if either of you feed Sakura, then you all fail."

Naruto hastily ate his food, but the moment a grain of rice touched Sasuke's lips, he couldn't eat. He placed the rice in front of Sakura's mouth.

"What are you doing you fool? You heard Kakashi, if we feed her, we all fail."

"I don't care if I never become a Leaf ninja, I'll get stronger on my own. I can't let Sakura starve."

"Really Sasuke I'm not even that hungry." Her stomach disagreed. But no matter how hungry she was, she couldn't stand the thought of Sasuke never becoming a ninja.

Naruto was about to get to his lunch when he remembered Kakashi's words. _A ninja must see underneath the underneath, both physically and mentally._

_So that's the real test._ Naruto put down his food and handed it to Sasuke. "I had breakfast this morning so I don't need that much food. Give it to Sakura."

* * *

For Sakura, this moment, this one moment, was like a fantasy. Sasuke was helping her when she couldn't help herself. He smiled on her and was thoughtful enough to give her his food.

The moment however, was ruined when a smoke explosion appeared in front of them.

"You both broke the rules! Prepare for the consequences!" Ox → Boar → Rat. Giant storm clouds formed in the sky above them.

"Anything left to say."

"Yes. We... we're a team. None of us can win without the others. Me and Naruto willingly gave Sakura our food because we're all one," Sasuke said. Naruto simply nodded.

"You're all one. That's your excuse?"

"You got a problem with that Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto challenged.

"In that case... you all pass."

"What?"

"I said you all pass." The storm clouds started to dissipate. "The reason the other teams failed their tests was because they did exactly what I said. Ninja need to see underneath the underneath, both physically and mentally. In the shinobi world, breaking the rules means your scum. But betraying your friends makes you less than scum."

Sakura and Sasuke both looked at each other with ecstatic expressions. Naruto just remained impassive.

"Congratulations, you are now officially Team 7. You begin your first mission tomorrow." Kakashi struck a nice guy pose.

* * *

Hey, Snakeking here. Just so you know, I'm going to have Naruto change very little. He didn't give his food to Sakura out of kindness, he gave it to her because he realized it was part of the test. I wanted to go further, but I decided to stop here. In the next chapter, I think I'll have Naruto get into a fight with Team 10/Asuma.

If you tell me that the characters are acting out of character, that's pretty much like saying this is a fanfiction. I won't flame you for it, but it's true.


	3. Meeting the Other Teams

**Naruto and Sasuke: Switched**

_**Chapter 2: Meeting the Other Teams**_

I own nothing.

* * *

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had just come back to the village from Kakashi's sick little test. Apparently they'd been the first team to ever be passed by him.

"So, uh Sasuke... would you want to... celebrate, or something?" Sakura nervously asked.

"Sure."

_HELL YEAH!_ Inner Sakura screamed.

"So Naruto, want to come with us?" Sasuke asked the blond. Naruto just gave both of them a contemptuous glare and a raised eyebrow before shunshining somewhere.

"You think that was a no?" Sasuke joked. "So what place did you have in mind Sakura?"

"Well, I did hear Choji talk about this place with really good ramen."

"Cool." Sakura walked along with Sasuke, taking in the glares other young women were throwing at her.

They saw the ramen shop with white banners with red kanji written on them. When they went inside, they were surprised to see a familiar orange kill me suit.

_Can I not have a place where I can't see them_, Naruto thought when he saw his teammates.

"Naruto, didn't expect to see you here," Sasuke said. He and Sakura took two of the seats to his right.

"Naruto, aren't you going to introduce us to your friends?" an old man asked. When his best costumer didn't answer, he realized that the two sitting down could be described as anything but friends.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha, and this is Sakura Haruno." Both of them gave a polite bow.

"My name is Teuchi, and the lady here is my daughter Ayame."

"So how do you two know Naruto?" the woman asked.

"All of us are part of Team 7," Sakura answered.

"Here, look over these menus, and when you're ready, tell me what you want." Teuchi handed both of them some menus. Sasuke thought that Ayame shot him a split-second glare, but he didn't really think about it.

In truth, Ayame did glare at him and Sakura. She often saw Naruto as a little brother. She knew for a fact that other than the Third Hokage and Iruka Umino, she and her father were the only people to ever acknowledge Naruto's existence, except maybe for a white-eyed girl who always seemed to watch him in secret. She saw how the villagers treated him, how they hated him. At times, she was often the one helping Naruto up when a villager chased him out of their store and actually beat him. She remembered one time, years ago, when the Uchiha heir walked by, his fan club trampled Naruto just because he was in their way. Before she got outside, she saw the same white-eyed girl that would follow Naruto. When she got close to him, a man with the same white eyes that Ayame assumed to be the girl's father told his daughter not to touch 'it.' Although the child did as she was told, she was reluctant to do so. That night, Ayame took Naruto into her home. To her surprise, most of his injuries were already healed, no doubt the work of the fox spirit.

"Have you both decided?" Teuchi asked.

"One beef ramen," Sasuke said.

"Salt ramen." Sakura and Sasuke handed their menus to Teuchi.

By the time Teuchi prepared their meals, Naruto was apparently on his fourth bowl, and he didn't look like he would be stopping anytime soon.

_Where does he keep putting all that ramen?_ Sakura and Sasuke thought as Naruto finished his sixth while they were only midway through their own.

"SASUKE!" Sakura knew that sound all too well, unfortunately. It was Ino leading her teammates Shikamaru and Choji.

_Great, it's the throwaway team_, Naruto thought to himself. Since when did he lose Ichiraku's as his safe haven?

"What a coincidence meeting you here," Ino said.

_COINCIDENCE MY FOOT! INO-PIG CAME HERE TO STEAL SASUKE AWAY FROM ME! I CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN! HELL NO!_

_How troublesome._

Shikamaru took the seat farthest to the left, while Choji sat between him and Naruto. Choji kept eyeing Naruto's food even after he got his own, even when Naruto shot him a look that said, 'IF YOU EVEN TOUCH MY FOOD, I'LL RIP YOUR STOMACH OUT.'

"Naruto, can I have the rest of your food?" All that was left were a few noodles and the broth. Teuchi and Ayame stiffened. They both knew how seriously Naruto took his ramen.

"Keep your mouth out of my food fatso!"

"Shit," Shikamaru said under his breath. The killing intent that radiated off of Choji was intense.

"What did you call me?" His voice was laced with anger.

"You heard me fatty. Are all the Akimichi this dense?"

Shikamaru grabbed Choji's shoulder. When the Akimichi heir noticed his best friend he calmed down.

"Naruto, don't start picking fights, you know you won't win and it's just too troublesome."

Naruto decided to throw even more stones at the hornets' nest. "Lazy as always. No wonder the Nara men need women to fight their battles for them. Your clan would starve to death because the men are too lazy to do anything." Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched. Naruto knew how the lazy genius thought men should protect women not the other way around. Choji was starting to get angry again; not at the memory of the insults to him, but to Shikamaru.

"If people thought just throwing you three together would automatically make an effective team, than this village is even more shortsighted and pathetic than I thought. You're just trash with no business being shinobi. A slacker, a fatass, and a ditz."

Shikamaru was still uncaring, but now Ino and Choji were both radiating killer intent.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! YOU'RE THE DEAD LAST OF THE DEAD LASTS! THE WORST STUDENT KONOHA'S EVER PRODUCED!" Ino shouted.

"My education was sabotaged at that pathetic excuse for a school. Now that I'm out, you'll all be the dead lasts."

"Don't make me laugh! Any one of us could beat you in a fight!"

"How about all three of you?" Sasuke and Sakura almost choked on their noodles when they heard what Naruto challenged. Even Ino was caught unaware. Team 10 was made up of three genin that came from three shinobi clans with very impressive family exclusive jutsus. They weren't sure if Naruto was all talk, or if he was serious, but there was no denying it, he had guts.

"Training Ground 36, half-an-hour from now." Naruto paid for his ramen, then shunshined away.

"COME ON!" Choji finished his noodles, paid for his food, then shunshined himself.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru followed his chubby friend, Ino and the rest of Team 7 following.

* * *

Training Ground 36 was made up of flat land with boulders scattered at random spots. Usually used for broad combat, it was occupied by six recently graduated genin.

Team 10 was arranged in a wedge formation. The Akimichi in the front, Nara and Yamanaka behind him.

"Naruto, are you insane! There's no way you can beat them on your own!" Sakura screamed.

"If you two aren't going to make yourselves useful, then stay out of the way!"

"Naruto, just call this off, it'll be far less troublesome."

Sasuke tried pulling Sakura away.

"Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei told us not to abandon our team."

"Yeah, but I think this justifies us staying out." Sakura agreed and moved a safe distance away.

The three man team and the team of one just stood, motionless, perfectly still. The silence was maddening.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto instantly filled the field with clones.

"Too troublesome to even think about," Shikamaru muttered.

Choji broke the pause by jumping into the air. "MULTI-SIZE JUTSU!" Choji's midsection started expanding. Soon he was perfectly spherical. Tucking his limbs into his body, he started to blast chakra out of his arms and legs. Unfortunately, Choji's chakra control still needed work, and the flow of chakra out of his limbs would fluctuate in irregular patterns. However, it did have the desired effect, and soon Naruto's clones were disappearing under the Akimichi Meatball Tank.

When Choji started slowing down, six clones took a kunai in each hand and wrapped a paper bomb around the handle. As the human ball came to a stop, they tossed their kunai at the ground below it. The explosion sent Choji rolling towards a boulder jutting out of the ground. The boulder stopped him, but at that moment, a group of Naruto's jumped on him and started rolling him backwards around the field, like a giant circus ball.

When they jumped off, Choji had swirls in his eyes.

"Ino, I'm going to try and get Choji awake."

_He just doesn't want to fight_.

Although half the clones were obliterated, there was still a fair amount. Five of the clones transformed themselves into fuuma shuriken. Five more clones spun the transformed clones rapidly. When they were thrown, Ino gracefully dodged each one, only for the shuriken to change back into Naruto. The clones threw several kunai with bombs attached to them, which formed a ring in the ground around the kunoichi. When the smoke from the explosion cleared, a boulder was standing in her place.

_I'm really starting to hate that jutsu._

"Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!" Ino was standing about three feet behind Naruto. A clear shot. Naruto's body slumped a little, while Ino's went completely unconscious.

"Shikamaru, is Choji back up to speed?" Ino asked from inside Naruto.

"He's okay." Choji was currently scarfing down a bag of potato chips.

"Bring it on Choji!" Once again, Choji performed the Human Boulder.

"Rele..." Ino found that she was unable to cancel the jutsu, and Choji kept coming.

_What's going on? Ino should be awake by now._

_Why can't I move?_

_You don't have as much control as you think._

* * *

Ino found herself in what she assumed to be the basement of a boiler room. The water on the floor beneath her started to churn. Red bubbles gathering in front of her. They seemed to boil with a sinister presence. The bubbles stopped forming when they were just a little shorter than she was. Their color changed from red to orange. They took the familiar form of Naruto, only different. He stood hunched over, his arms dangling in front of him. His canines were a little longer, even for him. His whisker marks were more, animalistic.

"How's this for dead last." Just by simply throwing his hands back, jets of water were thrown around the room.

"You'd be smart to run." Ino, overtaken by fear, ran through what seemed to be an endless maze of tunnels. But every time she rounded a corner, she could sense Naruto being right behind her. He was toying with her, like a cat right before it killed a mouse. She soon came to a dead-end, and Naruto was standing in front of her. By now his eyes had changed from blue to blood red.

"Never suspected the Mind Transfer Jutsu would lead you to this huh?"

"Wha-what is this? WHAT ARE YOU?!"

"Now that's something you'll have to figure out for yourself. Let's see if you live long enough!" From where Ino stood, Naruto seemed to teleport right behind her. Grabbing her by the back of her collar, he launched them both into the air. Raising his hand above his head, he forcefully crashed Ino into the ceiling. When they started to fall, he positioned her below him, using her as a cushion to land on the floor.

* * *

Back on Training Ground 36, Ino's body still lay unconscious.

_This is bad, Ino should be back by now, and Choji's still going at Naruto! If he hits him while she's still in there then whatever damage he takes will be given to her. I have to stop this. And to think this day couldn't get more troublesome._

* * *

Naruto propped Ino up against the wall. When she awoke, she was staring directly into his red eyes.

"Get, out."

* * *

"Shadow Possession Jutsu!" Shikamaru's shadow raced from in front of him to the rolling Choji. As soon as Shikamaru's shadow met with Choji's, the human boulder stopped, only inches away from colliding with Naruto. Choji started to decrease in size, taking on the similar slouching stance of Shikamaru. As soon as Choji was his normal size again, Shikamaru dropped the jutsu. After a minute, they saw Ino's mind go back into her own body, but she still wouldn't wake up.

"Ino, Ino." Shikamaru kept nudging the Yamanaka heiress with his foot.

"What did you do to her?" Sakura asked Naruto.

"Like I told her, you'll have to figure it out on you own."

Ino started to wake up. "Ino, what happened?" Choji asked. When Ino noticed Naruto, she actually seemed afraid. Ino, afraid? That was something that Sakura never thought possible. It was one of those things that sounded like they would never happen.

Naruto flashed her a grin, exposing his fangs, taking pleasure in her fear. He shunshined away, knowing that his work had been done.

"Ino, what happened?" Sakura asked her rival in love.

"I, he took me somewhere, he..." She couldn't find the proper words to describe what she'd been through.

* * *

Naruto was jumping through the trees.

_I must say kit, that was rather impressive._

_I thought I would only hear you if my life was at stake._

_I know what I said, but I find your methods were rather, enjoyable._

_Tell me my ears are working right, I think you just gave me a compliment._

_Don't think we're friends, my hate for your kind is undying, but your cruelty, your sadism, it is amusing._

"Naruto!" Naruto looked back to see Sasuke and Sakura chasing after him.

_It's like having bean cake stuck to my shoe._

"What do you want?" he called back.

"Whatever you did to Ino, you shouldn't have done it."

"It's not like I impaired her forever."

_Just traumatized her for a while_, he thought.

They followed Naruto back to the village. They were a few blocks away from the Hokage's Tower. Naruto saw how the adults glared at him. He should be the one that followed the Uchiha. It hurt their personal pride to see the monster that destroyed their village being the one to lead the last member of Konoha's most prominent ninja family. And he embraced it entirely.

_As long as these fools don't see the real me, I can get a lot of leverage out of them._

When they rounded a corner, they could hear a barking that gradually increased. It was Akamaru, poking his head out from Kiba's jacket. He was following Shino, with Hinata following him.

"Hey Kiba." Sasuke called out.

"What's up Sasuke!" the noisy Inuzuka yelled.

_Apparently this fool has never learned silence_, Naruto and Shino both thought.

When Sasuke said hello to Shino, he seemed to just nod, though it was hard to tell with that huge collar up.

"Heh... hello Na-Naruto." The Hyuuga heiress said.

"Hi." The other two members of Team 7 were surprised. In the short time that they spent with him, they always expected Naruto to verbally berate someone whenever he talked to them. But he just said 'hi' to Hinata. It wasn't very enthusiastic, but it didn't seem to hold any contempt. And while he didn't seem to regard the Aburame, some sort of air hung around them that had a little less killing intent than usual.

_He said hi to me._ Hinata thought. In all their time at the Academy, he never gave her the time of day. Granted, he always distanced himself from everyone else, but this was special. However, the white eyed girl brought herself out of her own fantasies.  
_I'm nothing to him. I'm weak. Everyone in my family says so, why should he think any differently? All those years I could've said something to him, comforted him, and now it's too late._

While it was true that Naruto hated all of his peers, he never gave thought to the Aburame and Hyuuga. They never bothered him. Never teased him. Never called him names. As long as they stayed out of his way, they wouldn't have a problem.

But Kiba's little pup kept barking. Akamaru sensed something inside of Naruto. Animals were always able to sense emotions better than humans, and to Akamaru, Naruto was like an endless ocean of hate, though a lot of it wasn't from the orange human.

"Tell your dog to shut its yap Inuzuka."

"You have a problem with Akamaru, you have a problem with me." Kiba spun Naruto around and grabbed him by the collar.

"Put me down you dog-breathed idiot. You don't want a fight with me, not after what I did to the Yamanaka." A cold smirk formed itself across Naruto's face.

"Please, you can't do anything," Kiba proudly said.

"I can't believe they let someone as loud and obnoxious as you ever be a ninja. I feel sorry for your teammates having to put up with someone like you." Kiba started to get angrier and angrier with every word. If he wasn't distracted, he would've noticed the buzzing that came from Shino's jacket. Soon, he was covered in a crawling black mass. It was the kikaichu pulling him back.

"Shino, what the hell!"

"We are not here for a fight Kiba."

"This isn't over Naruto!" Kiba yelled, but Naruto was already gone.

"If I may interject, I believe that keeping Naruto away from Kiba, and vice versa, would mutually be in everyone's best interests." Though at times the Aburame Clan's precise manner of speaking got annoying, Sasuke and Sakura both fully agreed.

* * *

At the Hokage's Tower, Kakashi leaned next to the front door reading his Make-Out Paradise. After he dismissed his team, an ANBU wearing an owl mask intercepted him.

_Flashback_

Kakashi walked down the streets to his apartment, his face buried in his little orange book. Suddenly, an owl masked ANBU appeared right in front of him.

"Kakashi-san, I bring a message from the Lord Hokage; he requests your presence immediately." The ANBU ended with a deep bow.

"Thank you Owl." The ANBU instantly disappeared.

_End Flashback_

Before the Third showed up, his son Asuma appeared before him.

"Kakashi, I need to talk to you about your students."

"What have they done?" Kakashi asked in a tone that sounded like this had happened so many times that he had stopped caring.

"Apparently the Uzumaki kid had gotten into a fight with my team. The Uchiha and pink-haired girl just stayed on the side-lines. Ino used her clan's Mind Transfer Jutsu on him. When she was ready for Choji to crush him with his Human Boulder..." He was having trouble finding the words to describe what Ino was barely able to tell him.

"He somehow, kept her in his mind, don't ask me how, but she said he took her somewhere. Whatever happened, he left her pretty rattled. From what Shikamaru told me she barely tried boss around him and Choji at all after that."

Kakashi's visible eye looked up from his, _literature_.

"I'll have a talk with him about it." Asuma nodded, then disappeared.

_All he needs now is wavy red hair and you wouldn't even see the resemblance to Minato. Come to think of it, it's amazing that no one hasn't made the connection in twelve years. Well, questions left for another day._

After five more minutes of waiting, Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared in front of Kakashi. The jonin followed the Third Hokage up into his office.

"What was it you wanted to talk to me about Hokage-sama?"

"Kakashi, I won't beat around the bush. You're reputation for tardiness is very well known in the Land of Fire, it's even starting to make its way into the other Elemental Nations; and while it serves as a good front to catch opponents off guard, it'll eventually become nothing but a nuisance. Just as well, I do not believe being tardy around Naruto will help with his attitude. You are his sensei, but if you show up late for everything, he will never respect you. He has much to hate about this village, which in truth, you cannot chastise him for. I believe that a positive adult influence around him will affect much in the long run, now that Iruka is around less frequently. So starting now, I will be expecting you to show up on time for Team 7's meetings, and to make sure that this habit sticks, you will also be expected to show up on time, if not early, for any jonin meetings. Am I clear?"

"Yes Lord Hokage."

"Very good, you are dismissed."

Leaving the Hokage's Tower, all Kakashi could think about was how much time he would be losing from his little orange joys.

* * *

Although it was only a few hours after noon, Naruto was in his apartment lying in his bed. The wall adjacent to him was filled with bladed weapons sticking out of it, and holes where they had once been. He couldn't get over what his sensei had meant by 'dreams for the future.' Naruto never really gave it much thought. Most of his life he'd just been trying to survive that wretched academy. He knew that if anything, he would make sure that the villagers would know he was there. The name Uzumaki would be, _should_ be a name that sent fear into the hearts of every man, woman, and child. A name that would weaken the resolve of even the strongest willed beings. That's what he wanted.

* * *

Throughout the night, Naruto kept tossing and turning. His mind refusing to let him rest. He kept having the same dream in a seemingly endless loop.

He was in the final round of the Chunin Exams. He was standing over the broken, bloody form of Kiba.

"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki!" the chunin proctor announced.

"Next match, Naruto Uzumaki, against... Sasuke Uchiha!" Hiruzen announced from inside the Kage's booth. Sasuke appeared in front of him from out of nowhere.

"BEGIN!"

Each of the young fighters dropped back into a taijutsu stance. They kept circling each other, their upper bodies still in their stances, their eyes locked. That's when it happened. Sasuke's eyes became crimson red. His pupils remained black, but they had taken on the most unusual of shapes. They looked like a pinwheel with the arms bent at the end. For some reason, the Uzumaki felt like he should know that shape, but the answer didn't come. Naruto felt his body go limp. He tried to move his arms, but they wouldn't. His legs buckled under him, and he found himself bowing down. When he forced his head up, he saw that the sky had turned red, and the pinwheel was looking down on him. He was involuntarily seething out red chakra, which formed itself into the outline of a fox. Soon more chakra tails formed. His body became obstructed by orange fur that was growing across his skin. In a matter of moments, he was nothing but a miniature version of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Out of the ground shot thirteen chakra chains. They flew over Naruto, before wrapping themselves around his arms, legs, and all nine of his tails. And there stood the Uchiha, who didn't even move from his spot. Those filthy eyes, the judges of his fate.

Naruto awoke. Sweating, and breathing heavily. It was still early in the morning, as it was still dark out.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto asked himself.

* * *

As the sun rose up, turning the black sky pink, Kakashi once more stood outside the Hokage Tower. To those who didn't know him, him being early for something could be taken as a sign of the apocalypse. For once he was the one waiting, rather than the one keeping others waiting. He didn't like it. Having to be forced to wait on someone else.

After Kami knows how long, he saw Sasuke and Sakura coming towards him.

"Do either of you know where Naruto is?"

"No." Soon enough, the orange genin showed up. His eyes had dark rings around them. They were half-lidded, and from what little they could see, his eyes were a dull blue.

"Naruto, you don't look too good. You think you need to go to the hospital?" Kakashi asked.

"No, I just had trouble sleeping last night."

"Well, if you still feel bad, we can take you to the hospital if you need any help." Naruto tensed up. Him and hospitals never really made a good combination. At least none of the hospitals in Konoha. Partially because the Kyuubi healed most of his wounds, but also because most of the medical-ninjas barely paid him any mind. He sometimes had a feeling that a few even tried to poison him.

"I'm fine, just a little tired." When Naruto made eye contact with Sasuke, his eyes regained some of their hateful vigor.

* * *

"Hokage-sama, Team 7 is here for their mission," one of the chunin guards said as he stuck his head into the Hokage's office.

"Let them in Raido." The special jonin nodded, and stepped aside as Kakashi's team filed their way in. "Team 7, your mission for today, is to retrieve the cat of the Fire Daimyo's wife."

"That's it?" Sakura asked.

"Yes. All three of you are fresh genin. You will only be receiving D-rank missions. Only when you've finished a decent amount, then you will be able to go to low C-ranked missions."

_This is basically grunt work that they make wide-eyed fools handle_, Naruto thought.

* * *

According to the scroll they got from the Hokage, Tora the cat was last seen a few miles outside of the village, in the east.

"Before we go, I want you three to take these." Kakashi handed each of them a small microphone. "These will allow us to communicate and coordinate our plans. Keep them set to frequency eight." Each of the genin put the microphones in their ears.

"I want each of you to head in different directions, when you've found Tora, report back to the rest of us."

Each of the genin shadowblurred into the forest, followed by their sensei.

"Testing, can each of you hear me?" Kakashi called out to his pupils.

"Sakura here. I read you loud and clear."

"It's me Sasuke, all clear on my end."

"Yeah, I hear you guys." _I really wish I didn't have to_, Naruto thought to himself.

"Remember, this is a simple search and retrieval mission. Plus this is the cat of the wife of the Fire Daimyo, so you won't need to be using any ninja tools."

"Guys, I think I saw something."

"Sakura, what's your location?"

"I'm not really sure. Hang on, I have an idea." Sakura tossed three kunai into the air.

"Did you guys see those?"

"Yeah, we're converging on your location." In a matter of minutes, Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi were with her.

"I saw a brown and red streak fly past me, heading in that direction." She pointed to the trees to her right. Naruto headed down the middle, with Sasuke and Sakura taking left and right respectively. Kakashi went ahead of them to cover any of the cat's escape routes.

"I'm at point A."

"Point B covered."

"Point C is under control."

"Okay, prepare for capture."

They saw the brown cat make its way into a clearing.

"GO!" Each of them rushed at it. The cat tried to make its escape, but was blocked by four other Narutos.

"Come on, come with us." Sakura had her arms outstretched for the cat. It only hissed, arched its back, and raised its fur. It kept eyeing each of them. While it seemed like its attention was kept on Sasuke, it pounced at Naruto, clawing at his face.

"You know... you guys could HELP!" Naruto's teammates were trying not to end on their backs laughing.

"Nice work guys." Kakashi appeared as Naruto managed to get on his feet, while holding Tora away from his face by the cat's armpits.

* * *

Back at the Hokage's Tower, Tora the cat was reunited with her owner, Madame Shijimi. However, the love in the moment was very one-sided. Tora was being crushed into the cheek of her owner.

"Stupid cat, after what she did to me I'm glad to see her get crushed." Naruto was covered in bandages.

"You can't really blame her for running away," Sasuke said.

"Team 7's next mission: the owner of a produce farm has injured his leg and can't make his deliveries. I need you four to go help him out."

The rest of the day kept going like that. They made the deliveries for the farmer; watered a merchant's plants while he was away; and again rescued Tora, who seemed to have a really deep hate towards Naruto. By the end of the day, the blond genin was covered in band-aids.

"Well, that wasn't too bad for a first day as ninja?"

"I gotta say, I expected a little more," Sasuke confessed.

"Well be patient, soon enough you'll get better missions, it'll just take time. Hey, how about I treat you guys to dinner?"

"Really Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Sure."

"Okay," Sasuke agreed.

"Hmph."

Kakashi led each of them to a restaurant called Hyakumi's. Kakashi, Sakura, and expectedly Sasuke managed to get past the hostess with no problem. However, two huge security guards blocked Naruto's entrance. Both of them had katanas strapped to their waists. The orange youth felt a kunai slinking its way down his arm under his jacket.

"Sorry kid, but we're all booked up," the guard on his left said.

"It's okay, he's with me." Both of the guards reluctantly stepped aside.

The four were led to a 'C' shaped booth.

After they ordered Kakashi broke the silence. "Okay, so our schedule for tomorrow will be pretty much the same as it was today. Report to the Hokage Tower, and then we'll get our missions."

After their food was brought, and after the waitress shot Naruto a venomous glare that was returned with equal ferocity, Sasuke spoke up. "So Naruto, why exactly do people hate you?" Naruto's kebab stopped midway to his mouth and stayed there.

Right before Sasuke could apologize for bringing up, Naruto spoke. "I did nothing. It's this wretched village that has wronged me." Looking around with his hands folded in front of his face, he could find all of the adults, and a few of the children, glaring at him. Placing some ryo on the table, Naruto quietly left the restaurant.

* * *

The next morning, Team 7 received the same cat retrieval mission.

_Again?_ each of them thought.

When they returned from what quickly became their least favorite mission, Naruto was again scratched up across his face.

"Next time that cat tries anything funny, it'll be losing its legs," he muttered to himself.

That was pretty much how things went for the next month, Kakashi and his trainees would handle things like simple delivery missions, walking pets, caring for stores while the owners were away, etc.

"Okay, let's see what we have for you three. Here, you can babysit the child of a clan head..." The Professor was cut of by his non-blood related grandson.

"No way! This is the kind of stuff you make Academy brats do! You always say that the future of every village is its next generation, well how come we're stuck with this menial labor!" Just as he finished his last sentence, Sakura landed a solid punch on his head.

"Shut it you knucklehead!"

"Hm, alright." The genin of Team 7 forgot about Naruto's outburst.

"If it's interesting you want, fine. I have a C-rank mission right here. Send him in." The door opened, in stepped a man in a black sleeveless shirt. He wore a pointed hat, but from what they could see of his beard, he was rather old. He was leaning against the doorway, a half-empty sake bottle in his hand.

"Hmph, this is who you're having protect me. These are just a bunch of brats."

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Naruto charged at him, but found his shirt collar in Kakashi's grip.

"You're not supposed to kill the client. We have to protect him."

"This is Tazuna. He's a master bridge builder from the Land of Waves. He's paid us to protect him from robbers and highwaymen."

"Yes, and it is imperative that I return as soon as possible."

"We'll take it," Kakashi said.

"Good. The Land of Waves is to the South of Konoha." The Third handed Kakashi a scroll with their mission specifications on it.

"Before we go, we'll need to stock up on supplies," Kakashi told his team after they left the Hokage's office.

Each of them took off for their own homes, grabbing anything that they'd require for a long journey.

* * *

**Author's notes:** For those of you who are a little confused, yes I know that Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan is black with a red atom for the pupils, but he hasn't developed them yet, and the Sharingan Naruto was seeing was the one that belonged to Kakashi and Obito because the latter gave the former his left eye. The reason I gave Sasuke their eyes is because that's what was used to control Kurama into attacking Konoha, so it's Kurama's memories influencing Naruto's dream.

Also, I know I'm probably getting ahead of myself, but what should I do when I get to the Sasuke Retrieval Arc. I know I need to work on the Chunin Exam Arc, and the Search for Tsunade Arc, but I'm conflicted. Should I make Naruto the one to leave and have Sasuke chase after him, or what?

Any questions, suggestions, and/or any kind of ideas, please review/private message me. Reviews help me write more, and write faster. I never leave a story unfinished, but it's a good incentive.

With the Japanese words, I'm using the Eudict translator, and it gave me hyakumi as, "all kinds (of food)." If I'm wrong, please give me the correct translations.


	4. Journey to Wave: The Three Demons

**Naruto and Sasuke: Switched**

**_Chapter 4: Journey to Wave: The Three Demons_**

Underlined words=simultaneous speech (two people speaking at the same time.

* * *

Kakashi's team set out from the Southern Gate of Konohagakure, their first true mission.

"So Kakashi-sensei, will we be running into any ninja in Wave?" Sasuke asked.

"Hm hm. No, there are no ninja in the Land of Waves, they have natural protection from the sea seperating them from the land of fire. Besides, ninja battles don't occur on C-rank missions. The most danger we'll run into are bandits. Nothing you can't handle."

While they continued walking, they passed by a small, insignificant little puddle. Out of that small, insignicant little puddle rose two figures. Both wore camouflage suits. One had a forehead protector with one horn on it, and wore a large metal gauntlet on his right arm; the other wore one with two horns on it, and a gauntlet on his left arm. Both had the symbol for Kirigakure, the Hidden Mist Village, a.k.a. the Village of the Bloody Mist. The one with the left claw jumped out in front of the group. Out of both their gauntlets shot chains formed from shuriken. Both of their chains wrapped themselves around Kakashi. With a look of wicked glee, they pulled their chains back into their gauntlets, slicing Kakashi into multiple pieces.

"Meizu, go for the old man, I'll take care of the brats!" one of the assassins said. The two-horned nin, who from this point shall be called Meizu, launched his shuriken at Tazuna, but it was intercepted by a kunai with a paper bomb attached to it. He looked to find whisker-face with two more kunai settled between his fingers. Meizu saw his brother using his own gauntlet to block punches and kicks from the kid in the blue shirt, while also avoiding shuriken thrown from the pink-haired kunoichi.

"Gozu, chain whirlwind!" Gozu jumped towards his younger brother. Both of them were back to back. They both spun in the air as their shuriken chains launched in a twirl of bladed death.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" The clearing was filled with Narutos. Most of them hurled themselves at the brothers, disappearing in puffs of smoke. When Sasuke saw an opening, he launched a kunai, which was able to pin both of the brothers to a nearby tree. When they couldn't get themselves free, they disconnected the chains from their gauntlets. Both of them flew towards Tazuna, the claws on their gloves reared back. The only thing standing between them was the pink-haired kunoichi, who only held a single kunai in a reverse grip. However, both of them were stopped when the silver-haired jonin positioned his arms to collide with their necks.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're alive!" Sakura said in shock.

"But how? We saw you get cut to pieces?" Tazuna asked. When they looked to the spot where the ambush started, they saw it was only a log that was destroyed.

"Nice job Sasuke, Naruto, very smooth. Sakura, running in front of Tazuna showed good instincts on your part." Kakashi looked over the unconscious Kiri-nin. "You guys did really well. These two are the Demon Brothers of the Hidden Mist. They're two chunin level missing-nin, so the fact that you were able to handle them says some words about each of your skills." Kakashi tied both of them up to a nearby tree.

Soon they started to become coherent again. "How did you know, we were watching you?"

"You really should have picked a better surprise attack method. A puddle, in the middle of a road, when it hasn't rained in weeks."

_Some chunin_. Kakashi turned to Tazuna. "I think you owe us an explanation." Tazuna seemed to tense slightly.

"What would I need to explain?" To a normal person, his tone would've been normal, but to a ninja, it was laced with nervousness.

"You hired ninja to protect you from bandits. That's the kind of work that usually goes to samurai bodyguards. But you specifically requested ninja. That means you knew we'd be going up against enemies that would require at least other chunin, or jonin level ninja. That would make the cost of the mission a high B or low A-rank assignment, well above the skillset of a genin. I expect that there's reason for lying to us, but right now I don't care." Kakashi took off Meizu's gauntlet. "These claws are tipped with poison. If one of my students had been just grazed by it, it's very possible that they would've died."

"Tazuna-san, we really should head back. This mission is to advanced for us."

"No." Each of them turned to Naruto.

"Our first real mission isn't going to end in us quitting with our tails' between our legs. Return to the village if you want, I'll be taking this guy back to Wave."

Sasuke was the next to step forward. "I can't believe it, but I agree. At the very least we can return Tazuna to Wave then send for help from another jonin or the ANBU." Sakura stood by Sasuke, showing her allegiance. Sasuke returned the favor with a smile that made the rosette blush.

"It seems I'm outvoted. Fine, I'll send word to the ANBU to pick these two up." Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram, Kakashi slapped the ground. In a puff of smoke, two dogs stood in front of the group. One was a massive black bulldog with a spiked collar, a blue vest, and a Konoha headband on his left forepaw. Riding the bulldog was a small brown pug.

"Aw that's so cute," Sakura said when she saw the small dog riding the bigger dog.

"What do you want from us Kakashi." The small dog's voice was low and gruff; nothing like his appearance. Sakura visbily flinched when she heard the low voice.

"Pakkun, I want you to send word to the ANBU. Tell them that we've aprehended the Demon Brothers of the Hidden Mist, and to send a squad to take them back to Konoha." Pakkun nodded. Giving Bull a nudge with his foot, the big dog took off for the village.

* * *

In a large fort hidden in the forest, a meeting was taking place.

"I can't believe it. YOU FAILED! Is this supposed to be amatuer night or something? I'm not paying you big money just to see you fail!" An abnormally short man was standing next to a bodyguard. In front of him was a gray skinned man. He was wearing baggy grey pants and mimetic wrist warmers. On his head was a Kirigakure forehead protector positioned sideways. His lower face was covered with bandages, like a mask. He wore no shirt, they only thing on his chest was a belt that held a giant cleaver sword on his back.

"Stop whining already." With seemingly no effort, he used one hand to hold the gargantuan sword right in front of the diminutive man.

"I'll be going myself this time. This sword will be the last thing they ever see."

"Hmph, I'm not so sure. I hear Tazuna has high level ninja protecting him. And because of the first failure, they'll be expecting you. Sure you're up to it?"

"Do you know who you're talking to? Zabuza Momochi; the Demon of the Hidden Mist."

* * *

The rest of the way to the boat launch, the group held themselves in a diamond formation. Naruto stood at the front, Sakura and Sasuke on the left and right respectively, and Kakashi at the rear, with Tazuna in the center. After about an hour of walking, they came to the docks. Sitting in the water was a single boat with a single man in it.

"This is Kaji, he's going to take us back to Wave." When they started going, they noticed that the boat had an engine, but Kaji was using a single paddle to cross the sea.

"Kaji-san, why don't you just use the motor?" Sakura asked.

"We can't risk _them_ seeing us." Soon they started coming up towards a dense fog. Instead of rowing around it, Kaji steered them straight into it. They kept going for what seemed like hours.

"This fog, it's so thick, it's unsettling," Sakura declared. Naruto had a kunai in both of his hands. Better paranoid than in the ground underwater. Soon, when they got further in, the bridge came in sight. It was huge, magnificent, even if it wasn't finished.

"Tazuna, you still haven't told us who you want us to protect you from. I'm not taking my team into a situation when they're blind to the danger."

"I guess it's best you should know. My life is sought by a man, who, while isn't physically imposing, is as dangerous as a ninja. Gato."

"The shipping magnate? The owner of Gato Transport? But he's a businessman."

"Yes. But beneath the man, is a monster. He takes over nations with the same ruthlessness that he uses to take over other businesses. He sells drugs, contraband. At his disposal is an army of gangs, and rogue ninja. It was a year ago, when he set his sights on the Land of Waves. With his wealth and influence, he easily took over. Anyone who defied him, _disappeared_. In my country, the man who holds the sea, holds us. Government, finance, our lives, all in his control. But with the completion of this bridge, we will be connected to the Land of Fire, and we will be free from him. That's why he wants me dead, I am the only thing that stands in his way."

"Buy why? You knew that this was beyond the capabilities of genin, so why not send for the help from a higher ranking ninja?"

"Like I said, because of Gato's tyranny, the Land of Waves, a once prosperous shipping nation, is now impoverished. Even our lords have very little money. The money we used to pay Konoha, was what little the people of my country were able to scrounge together. If you leave me once we make it to shore, I'll be assassinated on the spot. Then, there will be no bridge, and the suffering will only continue." Tazuna decided to set more bait. "But that shouldn't be your concern. Of course my only grandson will miss me. He'll cry, _grandad! I want my grandad!_" Sakura and Sasuke were starting to look uneasy. "Oh, and there is my daugter Tsunami, who will blame the ninja of the Leaf for her pain and suffering, and denounce and condemn your village for letting her father die."

By now the aforementioned children were noticeably worried. "Eh, it isn't something that should bother you. Just forget it." Kakashi nervously rubbed his forehead protector.

"I guess we'll just continue keeping you safe." Kakashi gave a nervous eye-smile.

Snap went the trap. "Thank you. I'm very grateful." Tazuna turned around, and discreetly holding up his middle and index finger on his right hand, he thought to himself, _I win_.

_Hook, line, and sucker,_ Naruto thought.

"We're almost here," Kaji announced. They were coming to a row of arches. Each of the ninja were on high alert. "We have been very fortunate that we haven't ran into trouble."

When they made it to the other side, they were in Wave. It was beautiful. There were trees standing above the water. The city itself looked like it was standing on the water's surface. However, they remembered the conditions that Wave was under.

"Kaji, I can't thank you enough for taking such a huge risk."

"Finish the bridge, then we'll call it even." Kaji started the engine on his boat and drove off.

"Now, take me back to my home."

_The next ninja to come after us will be jonin, how troublesome. Great, I'm starting to sound like Shikaku_

Naruto kept looking off to all sides.

"What's up Naruto?"

"I think I heard something." Naruto pulled out a kunai and threw it into the forest. When nothing came out, he chalked it up to just a squirrel.

"Naruto, be careful; those kunai are dangerous."

*_Rustle_* Naruto hurled another kunai at a tree. When they investigated their follower, they found it was a white rabbit that barely avoided the knife.

**_SMACK!_**

Sakura gave powerful punch to Naruto's head. "Naruto you idiot! Look what you almost did!" Naruto rubbed the lump on the back of his head and glared at the girl. As both of them were arguing, Kakashi felt uneasy.

_That's a snow rabbit, but they only have white fur when it's winter because the days are shorter. But this one, it was raised indoors with no light, for only one reason. A Replacement Jutsu_.

Unknown to any of them except Kakashi, a figure was watching them from the trees.

_Hmph. Now I see why Gozu and Meizu lost. The old man is being protected by Kakashi, the Copy Ninja of the Hidden Leaf._

"LOOK OUT!" Kakashi yelled. Each of them saw a giant gray blur heading towards them at dangerously high speeds. They dodged right before a giant sword decapitated any of them, and lodged itself in a tree. A gray skinned man landed on the handle of the sword as if it were a ten foot by ten foot plank.

_Could that be?_ Kakashi and the strange ninja glared at him. "Zabuza Momochi, rouge ninja of Kirigakure."

_Rogue ninja or not, this guy's going down._ Naruto ran for Zabuza, but was stopped by Kakashi.

"Naruto, this isn't a fight that you can win. He's not like the Demon Brothers, he's far more powerful. I'll have to use this to fight him." Kakashi reached for the part of his headband that covered his left eye.

"Kakashi, of the Sharingan? Tell me I'm right." Naruto's eyes hardened with hate when he heard that word. That most unholy of words.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere far away, a man with hair similar to Naruto's in color, but Ino's in style, and eye colors similar to the former, had stopped his bakudan right before it touched his lips. Next to him was a short man with hair in cornrows. He noticed this as well.

"What's the matter Deidara? I've lost track of how many times you've been doing that lately. It's getting on my nerves. Sooner or later it's going to make us late, and you know how I hate waiting, and keeping others waiting."

"Sorry Sasori my man, I keep feeling someone taking the first steps into appreciating my art, hm."

"Like I've said before, your little pyrotechnics are anything but art. Art is eternal, it never dies."

"The day you die will be my ultimate proof, yeah. Believe it, un."

* * *

_What does he mean Sharingan? Does sensei have some special power or something?_

"Manji Formation! Protect Tazuna! It's time you guys showed me your teamwork." Kakashi lifted his headband so it was straight. "I'm ready."

_No. It can't be_. Although Kakashi's left eye had three tomoe, Naruto kept seeing the black pinwheel from his dreams.

"Hmm. I'm very lucky, I get to see the Sharingan in a fight personally."

"What's the Sharingan?" Tazuna asked.

Sasuke spoke up. "It's a very powerful ability in the eyes. It's a rare dojutsu, eye technique. It can copy any Tai, Gen, and Ninjutsu down to the smallest detail, and throw it back at your opponent."

"Give that kid a prize," Zabuza said. Suddenly, an unnatural mist started surrounding them. "Just as well Kakashi, in Kiri, the assassination unit was given very specific orders to destroy you on sight. In our Bingo Books, you're listed as the man of a thousand jutsu. Kakashi, the Copy Ninja."

_Him, this fool?_

_Wait, how can even have a Sharingan. It only occurs in the Uchiha clan, and even then it was rare among my clansmen._

"Enough wasting time. Hand over the old man, and I won't kill your little brats." Naruto and the others formed a defensive wall around Tazuna.

"Hmph, if I have to kill you first Kakashi, fine." Zabuza dislodged his sword from the tree and landed standing on top of the water. Placing his right hand in front of his face, and his left hand in the air, "Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!" The mist started to thicken into fog. Zabuza disappeared, along with the rest of the forest.

"He's gone."

"Kakashi-sensei, who is this guy?" Sakura asked.

"Zabuza Momochi, the former leader of the assassination unit of Kirikagure, the Hidden Mist Village. Zabuza is famous for being a master of the Silent Killing Technique."

"Silent?" Sasuke said.

"It happens in an instant, no sound, no warning. When used by powerful shinobi, the victim can die before they even realize it. But if we do fail, all we lose is our lives."

_How can he even joke about that._ Sasuke thought.

The mist kept getting thicker. Soon Kakashi was gone from sight.

"Eight points." Zabuza's voice seemed to be coming from everywhere and anywhere, with no discernable source. "Larynx; spine; lungs; liver; jugular; subclavian artery; kidneys; heart. Which will be the point I kill you with?"

"That's enough!" Kakashi said. He surrounded himself in a blue shroud of chakra. When he sent it out in a pulsewave, it dispelled the chakra laced mist.

_This is insane! Any movement I make, even the shallowest breath, the smallest eye twitch, and he'll find me. Two jonin, prepared to take each others lives, it's maddening. I'd rather take my own life than go through with this any longer._

"Sasuke!" Sasuke was brought back to reality by Kakashi.

"Calm down. I'm going to protect each of you with my life." He looked back to them with an eye smile. "I won't let any of my students die."

"Don't be so sure." Zabuza appeared right in the middle of their manji formation, sword poised to cleave all of them in half. He reared the sword back, ready to decapitate.

With incredible speed, Kakashi rammed a kunai right into Zabuza's stomach. But instead of blood, water started pouring out. A second later, and Zabuza reappeared behind Kakashi.

"Behind you sensei!" Naruto screamed. It was too late. Zabuza easily split Kakashi in half. But unexpectedly, Kakashi himself turned into water.

_Even in the mist, he was able to copy the Water Clone Jutsu in an instant._ Zabuza felt metal being pressed against his throat. "Don't move," Kakashi said.

Each of the genin present were stunned at this display of shinobi at their finest.

"You're finished." Kakashi said to Zabuza.

"Hmhmhmhm. I'll never be beat by a copycat like you. I will admit though, you are very impressive, copying my water clone jutsu right before the mist was completely up, then using it to make your little speech to draw me out." Zabuza collapsed into colorless water.

"To bad it won't be that easy."

_Another clone._

Instead of cutting right through Kakashi, Zabuza drove the blade into the ground. Using the pmmel as a base, he held onto the sword handle while simultaneously kicking Kakashi into the lake.

"He just kicked Kakashi-sensei into the lake." Sakura was shocked.

"What do you expect. He'd have to be strong to carry that sword around," Naruto deadpanned.

"This water, it's dense, heavy." Kakashi said as he got to the surface. Zabuza appeared behind him.

"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!" Kakashi found himself trapped in a perfect water sphere, with Zabuza's right arm held inside it.

"After I kill your little brats, I'll deal with you. Water Clone Jutsu." The clone that appeared from the water laughed at them.

"You think those headbands make you ninja? Fools. Only when you are no longer concerned about dying, and when your names have been entered in my bingo book, then you may be worthy of the title. But even then, to me, you'll always be nothing." The clone disappeared, then reappeared when it kicked Naruto away.

"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura! Get Tazuna out of here! All his power is being focused in keeping me here, and his clone won't be able to go far. Just GO!"

Naruto picked himself up and stared straight into the water clone's eyes. "Running lost its value the second he put you in that prison. Even if we could escape, he'd just kill you, then hunt us down. Our only option, is to free you. Sakura, protect Tazuna! Sasuke, grrh, you and I are going to take down this chump!"

_At least she'll be out of the way_, Naruto thought to himself.

"You talk tough kid. Too bad they're only empty words." The clone grabbed his sword as Naruto charged at him along with Sasuke. Both of them held kunai, Naruto's with bomb tags wrapped around them. Naruto jumped in the air while Sasuke crouched low to the ground. Using the broad end of his sword, the clone swatted away the blond, while it almost sliced the Uchiha. With the blade planted into the ground, Zabuza's clone was able to kick Sasuke square on the face. Fortunately, this allowed him to slice the water clone's leg. Both of the genin slid back to where they started.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Eighteen Naruto's surrounded the field. Both Zabuza's eyes, and his clone's eyes widened slightly.

_Can't say I expected this. That blond kid must have crazy chakra reserves to make this many clones, and he doesn't even look tired._

Dog → Boar → Ram. Nine of the clones transformed themselves to look like Sasuke.

"Hmph. Still you pretend that _you_ are ninja. Do you know why I'm the Demon of the Hidden Mist? At your age, these hands had already drawn the blood of dozens."

"It's true," Kakashi said from inside the water prison. "Many years ago, in Kirigakure, the Village of the Bloody Mist, to become a ninja, Academy students were required to pass, a _test_."

"Do you know what the graduation exam's, _requirements_ were." Zabuza was laughing.

"So, we had graduation exams in Konoha!" Sakura said. Zabuza just continued to laugh.

"Did those exams force you to kill each other." Though on the outside Naruto remained stoick, on the inside, he was a bit shaken. Sasuke and Sakura on the other hand were shocked.

"Imagine it. You spend your life with someone. Training together, sharing your dreams. Then when it comes time for the test, it's either their life, or yours."

"Ten years ago in Kiri, things changed. A child, not even a student, killed over one hundred students by himself. He didn't pause, he didn't even have a doubtful thought. After that, the practice of pitting students against each other was discontinued, to prevent that evil from re-emerging."

Zabuza remembered that day. The screams of terror from the students. How their cries for mercy fell on deaf ears. The warmth of their blood as it soaked his hands. "It felt, so... GOOD!" Zabuza's clone ran in front of Naruto and rammed the pommel of his sword into his stomach. Spinning towards Sasuke, he performed a sweep kick to knock him to the ground, then planted the heel of his foot into his stomach. Naruto lay motionless on the ground. Until he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

_A shadow clone. He must've switched with one of his clones right after he made them._ Each of the clones charged at the Mist Demon. Soon he was covered by by a mound of the two male genin. However, even with a fraction of Zabuza's strength, it was still strong enough to brutally smash them away. The clones were disappearing everywhere. However, one Naruto that didn't go reached into his bag.

"Sasuke, catch!" Naruto threw something at Sasuke.

_A fuma shuriken, not bad Naruto._ Sasuke unfolded the giant blades. "Demon Wind Shuriken: Windmill of Shadows!"

"You really think you can touch me with a shuriken. Pathetic." Sasuke threw the shuriken, but it completely bypassed the clone.

_Smart brats, aiming for me rather than the clone._ Zabuza used his free hand to catch the shuriken. That's when he noticed another fuma. _The Shadow Shuriken Jutsu, sending a second shuriken to travel in the shadow of the first, and I can't stop this one and keep this water prison up._ So Zabuza simply jumped and let it pass under him.

"Told you that a shuriken couldn't touch me!"

As the shuriken flew behind Zabuza, it transformed into Naruto, who threw a kunai with a bomb tag attached to it.

"SUCK ON THIS!" With one hand holding Kakashi prisoner, and the other holding a giant shuriken, Zabuza was left with no choice but to pull his hand out of the water prison.

_This brat's better than I thought._ "YOU'RE DEAD PUNK!" Before Zabuza could throw the shuriken the genin handed him, it was stopped by Kakashi, who used the metal plates on his gloves to bring its spin to a stop.

"That was impressive Naruto, you really have grown since the academy."

"Hmph, if this guy was really a jonin, he would've known that the shadow clones were only a distraction. He should've known that I transformed myself into a shuriken to hide in the shadow of Sasuke's own. Demon my ass!"

"THE WHOLE THING WAS A FLUKE, THAT'S WHAT IT WAS!" Tazuna yelled.

_Call it that if you want, but the teamwork between Sasuke and Naruto was flawless. They're the perfect team._

"So what'll it be Zabuza, are you going to walk away, or will I have to kill you?"

"None of the above!" Zabuza folded each of the blades so that they were stacked on top of each other, quadrupalling the cutting power, and drawing blood from Kakashi. Swatting the shuriken away, Kakashi and Zabuza jumped away from each other.

Zabuza started performing a complex series of hand signs. Kakashi started copying each sign perfectly, right down to the most minute detail in the position of the fingers.

"TORI! Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" both of them said at the same time. The water around both of them started rising, taking the form of giant serpent like dragons. They curled around each other, though they never touched. Looking at them was like looking in a mirror. Each was a perfect copy of the other. When they collided, the force was so great, that it flooded the entire field.

_Kakashi-sensei mirrored each hand sign with perfect accuracy._

When Naruto was able to rise to the surface he found Kakahsi somehow able to hold back Zabuza's massive sword with only a kunai, and Zabuza was using his other hand to press down on the blade.

_How, both techniques occured at precisely the same time. But the sharingan is only supposed to replicate the attack after it's been performed. Could he... see into the future._

When Zabuza was able to get distance, Kakashi was able to mirror each one of his movements precisely. When he performed the hand sign for the hidden mist jutsu, Kakashi did it exactly the same way at the same time.

_This can't be real, he can't be__..._

"Reading your mind."

_This isn't possible, yes, it isn't._

"Ha, all your doing is copying me, like a monkey."

"You can't beat me with cheap tricks, I'll crush you!"

"After today, you'll never open that monkey mouth again!"  
Tiger → Ox → Monkey → Rabbit → Ram → Boar → Ox → Horse → Monkey → Tiger → Dog → Tiger → Snake → Tiger → Ox → Monkey → Rabbit → Bird

As he performed the final hand seal, Zabuza could've sworn he saw himself behind Kakashi.

_That can't be. Is it just an illusion jutsu!_ Zabuza was so distracted, that Kakashi seized this moment of opportunity.

"Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!" A giant water tornado formed itself around Kakashi. The suiton jutsu not only swept up Zabuza, but the trees surrounding everyone. Soon, the entire area looked like it had just come out of a natural disaster. As the water subsided, four shuriken lodged themselves into Zabuza's flesh.

"What are you? Does that sharingan allow to see the future."

"Yes it does, this is your last battle." Before Kakashi could deliver the kill blow, two senbon needles flew into Zabuza's neck.

"Yes, it was his last fight." Everyone turned to see a person wearing a brown pinstriped outfit under a green and white haori. Around this person's waist was a brown obi. Their hair was done up in a bun covered by a white holder. Two locks of hair with metal cuffs at the ends framed their face, which was covered by a white mask with red swirls on it. On the forehead was the symbol for Kiri.

When Naruto pulled himself out of the water, he saw Zabuza with two senbon sticking out of his neck, and his whole body stiff as a board. Kakashi felt Zabuza's neck for any signs of a pulse. There were none.

"He's dead." Kakashi looked up at the mysterious nin.

The hunter-nin bowed to him. "I really must thank you. I have been following Zabuza for quite a while. Your fight against him was the perfect opportunity for me to take him down."

"By the mask, you're a hunter-nin from Kiri."

_Hunter-nin_. Naruto always took a special interest in the hunter-nins of Kirigakure. It was one of the few subjects in the Academy that he never got wrong.

"Hunter-nin. Your job is to find any rogue ninja from the Mist, then eliminate their bodies to keep the secrets of your village secrets."

"Yes, you are quite well versed. I was assigned with bringing down this man. I'm an assassin from the elite hunter unit of Kiri."

_From his height and voice, he's probably no older than Naruto._

"You've got a lot of nerve!" Naruto yelled to the hunter-nin.

"Naruto, this man isn't our enemy, and it would be best not to make him one," Kakashi told him.

"Kakashi-sensei, we nearly lost our lives trying to bring down Zabuza, and he just steps in and takes him down with two senbon. If he can do that, then what are we? What are we?!"

"Well, to be fair Naruto, Zabuza was weakened by us, so it was easier for this hunter-nin to bring him down."

"You're defending him?!"

"I'm just stating the facts Naruto. You'll learn that there are kids who are even younger than you, yet they're even more deadly than I am."

When the wind blew, the hunter-nin seemed to move with it. He was instantely next to Zabuza's corpse. With strength that bellied his small size, he lifted the body with the sword still attached to it.

"I must deal with the remains, good day to you now." Both of them vanished. Naruto ran to the spot where they disappeared from. He dropped to his knees in disappointment. Filled with self-loathing, he started punching the ground.

"We're nothing! Just like he said! We're trash! Jokes!" Naruto's arm was grabbed by Kakashi.

"Naruto, if you want to prove Zabuza wrong, then save your anger for the next enemy, then the next, and the next. That is the life of a shinobi." For a while, Naruto forgot about his utter contempt for the sharingan that his teacher possessed, though it quickly returned.

"We still have a mission to carry out, getting Tazuna to his bridge."

"HAHAHA, sorry that I caused you all this trouble. You can stay at my house until the bridge is complete." Naruto sent a massive amount of killing intent at Tazuna. The next mission he was going on, he would make sure that it was what the client would say it is."

"Well, let's go." Kakashi started walking, but after the first two steps, he just dropped to the ground.

"What's wrong with him?" Tazuna asked.

"I don't know." Sasuke answered.


	5. A World With No Place For Heroes!

**Naruto and Sasuke: Switched**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

* * *

**_Chapter 5: A World With No Place For Heroes_**

After Kakashi's collapse, Sasuke, and reluctantly Naruto, carried him the rest of the way to Tazuna's house.

"How long do you think he'll be out?" Naruto said.

"Don't worry, my daughter will be able to heal him up a little," Tazuna answered. Soon, a woman in a pink shirt with red trimmings and a blue skirt walked in. Her hair was long and blue, and her eyes were black.

"He should be fine, just make sure he doesn't move too much."

* * *

The next day, Kakashi started to stir awake.

"Sensei, you're awake." Sakura was followed by Sasuke, Naruto, and Tazuna.

"Kakashi-sensei, if the Sharingan does this much damage to you, maybe you should lay off of it for a while," Sasuke said.

"It did have a big affect in defeating Zabuza, but what about that hunter-nin?" Naruto said.

"What are you talking about Naruto?" Sakura said in slight annoyance.

Naruto's eye twitched slightly. "Hunter-nins are trained to destroy a rogue shinobi's body as soon as they're dead."

"So?"

"He took the body somewhere else."

"Maybe he took it somewhere so we wouldn't have to see him destroy it," Sasuke suggested.

Kakashi sat up. "Naruto has a point, in Kiri, ninja are trained to be ruthless. He shouldn't have cared whether or not we were there. He should've destroyed Zabuza's body, then taken his sword or his head as conformation that he was successful."

"Plus he used senbon needles instead of shuriken or kunai."

"Exactly. There are only a few specific spots on the body that a senbon needle can cause death from."

"He could've used poison," Sakura said.

"Or, Zabuza may not be dead at all."

"But sensei, you felt his pulse yourself, you said his heart stopped."

"That was just a death-like state that he put him in."

"Don't you two remember when they taught this to us at the academy. Hunter-nins are taught every vital point on the human body. Making it look like Zabuza was dead would be all too easy." Naruto quoted the textbooks perfectly.

_I'm not sure if it's just me, but his knowledge about hunter-nins is a little disconcerting_, Kakashi thought.

"Aren't you over thinking this?" Tazuna said.

"Underestimating the danger always leads to death, every ninja knows this."

"But if Zabuza's alive, how can we be prepared for him if you're layed up?" Naruto asked.

"I can still teach you, can't I?" Tsunami handed Kakashi a pair of crutches.

Sasuke noticed Sakura was about to blow, so he decided to intervene. "Sensei, not that we doubt you or anything, it's just, well, even with the Sharingan, you could barely defeat Zabuza on your own. And I don't think three genin are equal to a jonin."

"But I wasn't alone, each of you helped. You've all grown a lot. You especially Naruto."

Naruto got a vicious gleam in his eyes. He was excited at the prospect of another chance to destroy Zabuza. "Next time we meet Zabuza and that fake hunter-nin, neither of them are gonna come out alive. Believe it!"

"You're all fools! Nothing's gonna get better! You're all going to die!" They turned around to find a short boy in green overalls, a slightly yellow shirt, and a white hat with blue rings.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked. The boy ignored him and ran to Tazuna. "Everyone, this is my grandson, Inari."

"That was very impolite Inari. These ninja risked their lives to bring dad back," Tsunami scolded.

"Don't worry, I'm even more rude to them." Inari looked to each of them.

"Mom don't you see, they're just going to end up killed by Gato and his men."

"What was that brat?!" Naruto screamed. "You talk tough for someone with no skills, and Gato is no better. Take away the thugs and ninja, and you've just got a powerless runt, like the one standing in front of me."

Inari just looked down. "You think you can just take down Gato and become a hero? There are no hero's. All you are... is an IDIOT!"

When Naruto charged toward the little brat, Sasuke and Sakura both held him back. "I'M GONNA PUT YOU IN YOUR PLACE KID!" Inari just walked towards the door.

"Where are you going Inari?" Tazuna asked.

"I just want to be alone!" Even with both his teammates holding him back, Naruto was slowly making his way towards Inari's room.

"Naruto, please stop."

"I'm going to do teach that kid a little lesson in humility." By the time he was able to get to the door, they heard crying. Peaking through a crack in the door, they saw Inari on the window sill, holding a picture.

"Daddy, please don't go!"

Naruto pulled himself out of Sakura's and Sasuke's grip, and just walked out.

Kakashi was waiting for each of them outside.

"Each of your training starts now. We're going to begin with reviewing chakra, a ninja's source of power."

"Uh, sensei, we already learned about chakra at the academy. It's the physical energy from the body's cells, and spiritual energy that comes from training. Mixing them together while using hand signs is how our jutsu are performed."

_Sasuke's so smart_, Sakura thought.

"Isn't the whole point to learn the jutsu. Besides, we already use chakra."

"No Naruto. You've barely scratched the surface of this power. You must draw on spiritual _and_ physical energies, then combine them within you. To do this, you need to know what types of chakra to draw on, then mix them into the right amounts. So far you've all just been guessing at the how much chakra you'd need, hoping that it would be enough. Naruto, perform the academy clone technique."

_He's just setting me up for humiliation_. Naruto thought about performing the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but he knew Kakashi would see the difference between the clone hand seal, and the ram seal. There was no way out of this. Conceding defeat, he formed the ram seal.

In a puff of smoke, a dead looking Naruto was laying next to the real one. He quickly dispelled it.

"See. The reason you could never perform the simple clone technique isn't because you haven't been putting in enough chakra, you've been putting in too much."

"But sensei, isn't more chakra better?" Sakura asked.

"It is, for high level techniques, but for jutsu that don't need a lot of chakra, you overwhelm it and it comes out wrong. That's why Naruto can perform the Shadow Clone Jutsu with ease. If you waste too much chakra, you can't fight back, and then you're just a target. To fix this all you have to do, is climb a tree."

"That's it?" all of them said at the same time.

"Only catch is, you can't use your hands. I'll show you." Kakashi formed the ram sign. A thin line of dust appeared in front of his feet. When he walked up to a tree, he started going up. Soon he was at a perfect 90 degree angle. This couldn't be, now he was on a branch, hanging upside down.

"If you practice with this, you'll not only gain better chakra control, but you'll also increase your chakra reserves."

"But how does climbing trees help us fight Zabuza?" Sasuke asked.

"It's the only way. You'll learn to draw specific amounts of chakra to specific parts of your body. The feet particularly, are one of the more difficult body parts to apply chakra to. If you can perform this simple technique, you'll be able to perform any jutsu, in theory anyway." Kakashi threw three kunai in front of them. "When you get to a higher point on a tree, use the kunai to mark your position. When you reach the top, stick the knife into the wood. Running at the tree will give you momentum to take you up part of the way."

Each of them took the kunai and performed the hand sign Kakashi used. Each of them could feel the chakra moving to their feet. For Sakura, she was pumping in as much as she could. Same for Sasuke. But to Naruto, it was like when there's a flood at a dam and you open up the floodgates only slightly; he barely felt anything. Each of them charged at the trees. Naruto was barely up a meter when he fell to the ground. Sasuke got much farther before the bark broke from under his foot. Before gravity took its effect, he slashed a line in the tree.

_So, too much chakra and you get pushed away, but too little, and you fall off._

"Hey, this is fun!" They all looked up to see Sakura sitting on a branch, her kunai lodged into the tree.

_How can she get all the way up there?!_ Naruto thought.

"Way to go Sakura!" Sasuke called up.

Sakura was so thrilled to hear Sasuke congratulate her that she nearly fell off of the tree branch.

_Looks like Naruto and Sasuke are both motivated. With their high chakra reserves, their chakra control will be some of our greatest assets._

* * *

Meanwhile, at Zabuza's hideout, Haku sat next to Zabuza's bed side. The door to the room opened, and in stepped Gato flanked by a shirtless man with an eye patch, and a shorter man with a skull cap. Both of them had swords strapped to their belts.

"Hmhmhm. So much for the Demon of Kirigakure. Beaten by a lone man and his brats." Haku got up from his chair, causing Gato's samurai to grab their swords.

Gato motioned for them to stay. He walked over to Zabuza. "Let's talk about this, and I know you can talk..." He was cut off when Haku held his wrist in a vice grip.

"Keep your filthy hands off of Zabuza-sama." Haku's voice was filled with nothing but malice, while his eyes were void of empathy. Haku saw Gato's bodyguards draw their swords.

Before they knew it, Haku was between them, holding their swords. Their arms were still in the same position that they used to draw their swords from.

_That's impossible._

_No one's that fast._

"It would be wise not to press your luck. I'm not in the best of moods." Haku threw their swords on the ground.

"GRRH! You get one more chance! If you fail this time, you can forget your pay!" Gato stalked off to get his wrist looked at, his samurai in tow.

"That wasn't necessary Haku." Zabuza motioned to the kunai hidden underneath the sheets.

"Still, it's too early to kill Gato. He's our best cover. The murders would attract the hunter-nin, they'd be after us again. We need patience."

"Yeah."

* * *

Back at Tazuna's house, each of Kakashi's charges were exhausted. Sakura's chakra was spent. Sasuke was panting but kept going. Naruto kept going at the tree, only to fall back down again. He climbed back up, but fell back down.

_How can they keep going?_ Sakura thought.

Naruto looked at the tree that mocked him. His cuts were getting higher up, but they were nothing compared to Sasuke's.

Sakura felt her heart flutter when she saw Sasuke walking towards her.

"Sakura, you're good at this, so I was wondering if you could give me some advice." Sakura couldn't get a straight answer out because her words were getting caught in her throat. Soon, she was out cold.

Sasuke was frantic. "Sakura! Wha, why did you faint?! C'mon wake up!" Sasuke lightly shook her by the shoulders to wake her up.

_As expected_, Kakashi thought.

_Pathetic_, Naruto thought to himself.

Naruto returned his focus to the tree. He knew that the only way he could get this on his own was through simple trial and error. Naruto forced more chakra out of his feet. He ran at the tree full speed, but when he made contact, the bark shattered underneath him.

_Okay, too much._

Pulling back a little, he charged the tree again. He got farther up, but lost control of the chakra and slipped. Back on the ground, he saw the cut he made was at least half a meter above his last cut. That's when he got an idea.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Two clones appeared next to him. "Alright, take a tree, and run as high as you can!"

At this moment Sakura regained consciousness. Her head wasn't resting on ground, and half of her view was blocked by something dark blue. When she looked up, she saw Sasuke's face above her. "You okay?" For Sakura, it was as if time itself was standing still.

_I'm on Sasuke's lap. I'm on Sasuke's lap. I'm on Sasuke's lap._ Her mind kept playing those thoughts on an endless loop.

"So, will you teach me how to control my chakra?"

"Sure." That was all her mind would permit her to say.

"GO!" Sakura sat up, and saw Naruto with two clones.

"What's he trying to do?"

_He's using clones to reduce his chakra to the right amount, impressive_, Kakashi thought.

When Naruto and his clones ran at the trees, he saw that he was going up farther than he had on his own. But soon the chakra slipped, and each of them fell. When they compared their marks, they were at the same level, give or take a centimeter or two.

"AGAIN!" With each time Naruto kept getting higher. He was becoming more familiar with the chakra levels he should be using. But by now, the combined use of the shadow clones, along with the tree climbing, was starting to catch up to him, but he couldn't lose the momentum he'd been building.

"Keep going!"

"How?" Sasuke said to no one.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"How does he keep making solid clones? How'd he even learn it? It's supposed to be a kinjutsu (forbidden jutsu), even some of the best jonin have trouble with it. Does it have something to do with how he's hated in the village." Sasuke held his chin in a thoughtful pose. To Sakura, he looked adorable that way.

"Let's go ask Kakashi, maybe he'll know." Both of them walked over to Kakashi, who was sitting on the roots of a tree while reading his orange books, if you could even call them that.

"Kakashi-sensei, me and Sasuke have been wondering, how is Naruto able to perform the Shadow Clone Jutsu? Why is he hated in Konoha?"

"*_sigh_* It's... complicated. Only Naruto, Lord Hokage, and a few people know the truth, myself included, but only Naruto can tell you, but I can't guarantee that he'll want to."

"But if we're going to be a better team, there can't be any secrets between us, right?" Sasuke said.

"Yeah, but it's also the law, and it applies to wherever Naruto goes, be it here, Kumo, or anywhere else."

"You think we should just ask him?" Sasuke asked.

"Worth a shot."

Naruto saw that he was slowly making his way up to some of the higher branches, though his clones were so exhausted that they dispelled by themselves.

"Naruto." He looked up to see his teammates. "We were wondering if, you could tells us, why..." They were trying to find the right words. Naruto found some for them.

"Hated? Reviled? Treated like a living plague?" Sasuke and Sakura rubbed their necks nervously. "First, I'm not going to tell you. Second, you're two of the best students at the Academy, you should be more than capable at figuring it out on your own." He ran back up the tree.

"I don't think we'll be getting a straight answer anytime soon," Sakura deadpanned.

"Let's just get back to tree climbing."

"Oh yeah, I said I was going to show you chakra control." Sakura stood in front of a tree, prepared to give her lecture. "To keep a steady flow of chakra going, you have to maintain concentration at all times. If you get distracted or frustrated, then you'll lose all control. Just focus on the tree." Sasuke closed his eyes, thinking only of the tree. He could feel a steady stream of chakra flowing through him. Running up the tree, he saw that he was sticking. He was heading towards the top. He was so excited, that he lost his grip on the chakra, and fell to the ground on his head.

Sakura was too busy worrying about Sasuke to notice Naruto and his two new clones were on their backs laughing.

"Sasuke, are you okay?!"

"I think so, your advice was so good that I lost concentration." Sasuke inadvertently caused his female teammate to blush a deep red.

"Sakura." Kakashi slowly made his way over to the two. "I need you to escort Tazuna to the bridge to keep him protected."

"But sensei, shouldn't I keep practicing?"

"You seem to have this exercise down mostly, your only weak point are your chakra reserves, though you may be able to rest up a bit while guarding Tazuna; after you're finished, then you can resume practice."

* * *

Morning soon turned to noon, noon to evening, and then evening to night.

Kakashi came out to his two charges. "Alright, I think we'll call it a day for now. And no matter how much either of you protest, you can't skip out on dinner." No matter how good Naruto's superhuman stamina was, he would most likely kill himself from chakra exhaustion, and Sasuke wouldn't be so keen on being outperformed.

Inside, while they were waiting at the table, Kakashi asked Sakura how her day was. She told them about how some of the workers were jumping ship from fear. She told them about how horrible things were for the people. She also told them about how she knocked out a guy she thought was a pervert who only attempted to steal her bag.

When the food was finished and served, they noticed the two male genin were eating much more and much faster than anyone else.

"Heh, slow down guys, we're all hungry," Kakashi nervously said.

"MORE PLEASE!"

"I guess I should really be taking this as a compliment," Tsunami said.

Naruto kept going even as Sasuke started slowing down.

_This kid's got a bottomless pit for a stomach_, Tazuna thought.

_I'm not sure whether or not it's the Nine-Tails, or the Uzumaki Appetite_, Kakashi thought.

"He could put Choji's appetite to shame," Sakura whispered to Sasuke.

All throughout dinner, Inari kept on glancing at torn picture hanging on the wall.

"Hey Inari, it looks like someone's torn out of that picture, do you know who it is?" Sasuke asked.

"It is... was, my husband," Tsunami said from the sink.

"The Hero of Wave," Tazuna muttered.

Without a word, Inari left the table, with Tsunami following after him.

"What's up with that kid?" Naruto said to himself.

"The person torn out of that photo, was a man named Kaiza. He wasn't Inari's real dad, he died before his son could even know who he was. When Kaiza was around, Inari always laughed, he always smiled. But after _that day_, he never did."

"What happened?" Sakura asked. Tazuna told them how Inari was rescued by Kaiza after some cruel boys pushed into the ocean and left him to drown.

"Kaiza told Inari that if you loved something enough, to protect it with both arms, even at the cost of your life, then you leave your mark for others to follow. Kaiza taught Inari everything he knew about life. Soon, it was like he had always been with us. Then one day there was great storm, and part of our village would've been washed away, had it not been for Kaiza. He swam out to the dam in the fierce waters so that the rest of us wouldn't suffer. Soon, his name and hero became one-and-the-same around here. He gave us something to hope for. But then Gato came. Kaiza was exactly the kind of person he couldn't leave alive, a local hero to bring the villagers together against him. It took his whole gang just to bring him down. The next morning, he made an example out of Kaiza, that any who stood against the Gato Corporation would share his fate." Tazuna's eyes lowered. "Death. And Inari watched the whole thing. Since then, he's given up all hope."

Naruto tried to leave, but collapsed from pure exhaustion.

"You better take tomorrow off Naruto, no more training."

Still, the blond forced himself up. "I don't care about heroes in any way, but I don't just stand by like a coward." Naruto stiffly walked out of the house and into the night.

"Is he always so stubborn?" Tazuna asked.

"You have no idea," Kakashi answered.

* * *

Naruto didn't bother making shadow clones because he was pushed enough as it was. Though his body kept screaming no, his mind completely ignored it. When he tried running up a tree, he barely got a few meters in the air before he fell like a stone. That was how it went all throughout the night until on the twelfth try he knocked himself into unconsciousness.

* * *

As the sun's rays peaked through the trees' branches, a person in a pink kimono was out collecting herbs. A sparrow landed on their shoulder and quickly flew off. The person noticed another person in an orange jumpsuit lying on the ground.

_It couldn't be_, they thought. But then again, how many other blonds in the world wore 'kill me' orange. The blond's head rolled to face the person in the kimono, revealing a Konoha symbol on a blue forehead protector. It was the same kid from before.

Haku walked over to the child. He remembered that the silver-haired jonin, Kakashi, called him Naruto. He reached down for his neck, preparing to eliminate any future problems. Suddenly the genin's right hand latched onto his, a kunai held to the skin with the other. It took all of Haku's self-control to not make his own counterstrike, knowing that it could jeopardize the entire mission.

Naruto, still holding this mysterious lady's arm slowly sat up, then relaxed his grip.

"What were you doing lying on the ground?" Haku asked as he rubbed his wrist. It didn't hurt that much, but he had to keep up the civilian charade.

"Why were you going for my neck?" Naruto countered.

"I saw you lying on the ground, you would've died from the cold if you stayed there. I had no idea you were a ninja, is that what your hitai-ate (forehead protector) is for?"

"I was training, that's it. What're you doing out here anyway?"

"Collecting herbs for a friend. Would you like to help?"

"Sure," Naruto said warily. For part of the morning, Naruto and the odd lady kept pulling out herbs.

The lady broke the silence. "So what are you training for anyway?"

"I'm trying to become stronger."

"Well you seem very strong already, not many people can just sleep in the woods with no fire, and not get sick at all. But don't you think you should just take it easy for a while."

"I can't, I have to get even more stronger than I already am."

"But why, what makes it so important."

"I have to be strong so I never have to suffer, and to prove my worthless village wrong."

"Wrong? Wrong about what?"

"It's personal."

"I see. So, is there anyone in particular that your becoming stronger for?"

"What do you mean lady?"

"Are you training for a specific person, or is it just for yourself?"

"Well I can only train for myself. What kind of question is that?" The lady just chuckled.

"What's so funny? Why are you laughing?!"

"Are you training because there's someone precious to you?"

"_Precious_, what's that supposed to mean?"

Haku remembered, when he was nothing but a street rat, forced to live off of what he could find in what other people had thrown away. Having to fight off alley dogs just so he could live to see tomorrow. At times, he wondered if it was even worth it. Until Zabuza stepped into his life.

"When there is something that a person genuinely wants to keep safe, then they truly become strong."

"Hmph. That must be nice. There are only a few people that matter to me, but even they won't be able to protect me for long. Fight to live, so you can live. I've heard people call life the most precious gift in the world, well, I don't plan on losing mine anytime soon."

The lady just nodded. "You still have a ways to go. You will find someone to protect. And when you do, you will become very strong." She picked up her basket and started to leave. Before she was gone she turned around. "And by the way, I'm a boy."

Naruto just sat there for who knows how long.

_That was a guy?_

_THIS IS TOO GOOD!_ The Kitsune kept laughing.

_Shut up_. Naruto slowly got up and started walking back to Tazuna's house. When he passed by the tree he was using yesterday he decided that now was as good a time as any to practice. Remembering the feeling from his previous attempts, he felt the perfect amount of chakra surging to the bottom of his feet. He stayed that way for several minutes, keeping the flow going. Keeping his focus on the tree, he ran at it full speed. He only looked at the wood in front of him. He passed by his previous marks and kept going higher. When he started slowing down, he found that he wasn't falling. When he came to a complete stop, he stuck there.

"Wait 'til they see this."

* * *

"Man, where's Naruto supposed to be?" Sasuke asked himself. He, Sakura, and Kakashi had just finished breakfast and were now searching for their missing teammate.

"He couldn't have gotten too far."

"Don't worry guys, he's bound to be here somewhere," Kakashi said right before a kunai landed in the ground in front of them. They looked up to see the missing member of their group.

"HEY, KAKASHI-SENSEI! IS THIS HIGH ENOUGH FOR YA!" he yelled down. Slowly he started leaning forward. They were sure he was going to fall, but he kept clinging to the branch.

"HA! GOTCHA!" he said as he hung upside down.

_I'M GONNA KILL HIM! HELL YEAH!_ Inner Sakura screamed.

"Well well, looks like you've got the gist of chakra control. How about you Sasuke? Let's see where the mighty Uchiha stands." Sasuke got a look of determination. After sending out chakra to his feet he ran at the tree. He quickly made his way up to the same level as Naruto and jammed his kunai into the bark.

"Yeah Sasuke, you're the best!" Sakura called out. Naruto just rolled his eyes.

"Thanks Sakura!" he said, only to slightly lose his footing. "Oh shit." As Sasuke fell, he righted himself in the air. When he landed on the ground, he nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Heh heh, looks like I still have to work on concentration."

The rest of the day, the three kept going up and down the trees. By night, Naruto and Sasuke were at the very tops' of their respective trees. Both of them glanced at each other before they started running down for dinner. They were slowly picking up speed, gravity and momentum taking their effects. They slammed hard on the brakes to keep themselves from smashing into the old goat's house.

"Glad you two cared to join us," Kakashi greeted.

"We both made it to the top," Sasuke excitedly said.

"Very good. Tomorrow, both of you will be bodyguards for Tazuna."

Dinner seemed to go by without a hitch.

"Just think, soon the bridge will be completed, and we have you four to thank."

"Still, you must be careful. If what you said about that demon ninja is true, then he's bound to return," Tsunami said.

"I've been meaning to ask, why have you stayed to protect me, even after you found out I lied to you?"

"Under a strong leader's wing, cowardice well never survive," Kakashi said. Tazuna and Tsunami looked at him confusedly. "It's a quote from the First Hokage, the founder of our village."

"Why?" Everyone turned to Inari.

"All of this training is just a waste! Gato's army will just destroy you! Everything you say, it means nothing! The weak always lose to the strong!"

"Heh, look who's talking," Naruto said smugly.

"JUST SHUT UP OKAY! ALL YOUR TALK OF BEING STRONG, THAT'S ALL IT IS! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT OUR PAIN, OUR SUFFERING!"

_Shut up Inari_, Kakashi thought.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S IT'S LIKE TO BE TREATED LIKE DIRT!" That was the last straw. Naruto reached across the table, grabbed the boy by his collar, pulled him all the way across, and smashed him against the wall.

"NARUTO YOU LET GO OF HIM RIGHT NOW!" Sakura screamed. Naruto just ignored her.

"Now look here brat, don't talk to me about pain, cause I know it far more than you ever will. Here, it's a single man with an army against a village. For me, it was a whole village against a single child. Imagine being treated as nothing since the minute you're born, and not even knowing why. Never knowing what you did to deserve it. Gato is just greedy, he has no other motive. But you just complain about how you're a victim. Grow up already! If you have a problem, remember this, find it's source, wrap both hands around its neck, then twist until it breaks. Until you do that, to me you're just a coward! Wherever your father is, he's probably spinning in his grave." Naruto threw him on the ground and stalked off. When he made it to the room he was staying in, he just collapsed onto the mat.

* * *

Soon, Inari was out looking out to the sea. Kakashi walked up next to him.

"Sorry about that, Naruto has a tendency to wear his emotions on his sleeves."

"What did he mean by a whole village against him?"

"Naruto's dad died too, along with his mother. He has no other family, and no friends. I'm not allowed to tell you everything, but for reason's out of Naruto's control, all the adults in Konohagakure despised him, and they made sure to pass that sentiment onto their children, so they all hated him just because their parents did. But through it all, though he may sulk, and insult at most chances he gets, he doesn't give up, he just got tired of crying. He may have been cruel to you, but that's probably what he's been telling himself his whole life."

Inari looked back out to the ocean, remembering his 'father,' and what Naruto had just said to him.

* * *

The next morning, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke were standing outside Tazuna's house, while Naruto was still asleep.

"Are you sure we should leave Naruto here Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"He's pushed himself beyond his limits, he's earned a good rest more than any of us."

"What about you?" Tsunami said.

"Do I look that bad? Trust me, I'll be fine."

"Let's go," Tazuna called out.

Unbeknownst to any of them, Haku and Zabuza were in a small boat directly under the bridge.

"Ready Haku?" Zabuza gripped his sword. Haku nodded as he placed several senbon between his fingers.

At Tazuna's house, Naruto woke to find everyone already gone.

_Why am I not surprised that they ditched me?_

As he made his way out of the house and through the trees, he saw a sliced up boar. When he got a closer look, he saw that part of the clearing was cut up, as if someone was practicing their swordsmanship there. The cuts in the trees lead back at the direction that Naruto came from.

_We were hired to protect Tazuna, and that also applies to his family_.

Back at the bridge, all of the workers were lying unconscious, some with needles in them. A mist started to waft over them.

"SASUKE! SAKURA! PROTECT TAZUNA!" Kakashi yelled. "Just couldn't wait for round two could you Zabuza," he said to himself.

"Hmhmhm, still got those brats Kakashi? Where's the blond one, the one with some real kill in his eyes? That one is still shaking."

Seven Zabuzas surrounded them. Sasuke tightened his grip on his kunai. "I'm shaking, with excitement." Kakashi nodded his approval. Quickly, the Uchiha took down each water clone.

"Hmph, looks like you've got a rival in speed Haku."

"Apparently."

"It's that fake hunter-nin," Tazuna said.

"Pretty convincing act, kinda like you two have been pulling that stunt for years now."

"He's improved since last time Zabuza-sama. Even if the clones only had a fraction of the strength of a single water clone, he took them out relatively easy," Haku said.

"Now use the advantage we've just been given," Zabuza commanded. In an instant, Haku was spinning like a whirlwind with very little effort being put into it.

* * *

Back at Tazuna's house, Naruto saw Tsunami being carried out by two thugs. Inside Inari seemed broken.

_Why, why can't I protect you? I don't want to die!_ Suddenly, Inari was remembering.

_If you love something enough, protect it with both arms, even if it's at the cost of your own life._

_If you have a problem, remember this, find it's source, wrap both hands around its neck, then twist until it breaks. Until you do that, to me you're just a coward!_

_But through it all, though he may sulk, and insult at most chances he gets, he just got tired of crying._

Inari stood behind Gato's thugs. "Let go of my MOM!" he shouted. The swordsmen just laugh.

"This kid doesn't have much brains," the big one said.

"Just take him out," the shorter man ordered, clearly wanting to get this over with. Unsheathing their katanas, they charged at the child.

_SLASH!_ They cut through a log.

"What happened to the brat?!"

"His mom, where'd she go?!"

"That would be me." The samurai turned around to find the blond genin holding the kid and his mom.

"H-how'd you know those guys were coming Naruto?" Inari asked as he woke up.

"Cutting up a clearing may not have gotten my attention if I was going in the wrong direction, but killing a boar and leaving it out in the open? And I thought the Demon Brothers stunk at stealth," Naruto informed with a condescending attitude to the samurai.

"*_sigh_* You couldn't have waited until we got here to kill something couldn't you Waraji?"

"Look Zori, he's just one of those genin brats, that silver-haired weirdo isn't around, we can take him easily." The thugs gripped their blade handles ran at the three. Naruto tossed two shuriken at them that were easily deflected by their swords.

From behind them, the shuriken turned into clones of the original Naruto. Both of them lodged a kunai straight in the backs of the samurai. One clone dispelled itself while the remainder knocked the heads together. Both of them fell to the ground, blood streaming down their backs.

"Inari, help me tie these goons up." Naruto pulled some ninja wire from his bag while Inari got rope from the house. They tied up Zori and Waraji to a post. As soon as Naruto knew they were subdued, he raced off to the bridge.

* * *

Sasuke was holding off Zabuza's sidekick. He currently holding off the enemy's senbon with a kunai.

"Give us the bridge builder, I don't want to have to kill you."

"I don't think that'll stop Zabuza, so I won't."

"You can't win, I already have two advantages that I plan to use against you. One, we're surrounded by water. Two, I have one of your hands occupied, so you can't make hand signs."

"But then the same goes for you."

"Not quite." Haku did something that stunned even Kakashi. He was performing single-handed hand signs. Haku stomped the ground.

"Secret Jutsu: A Thousand Needles of Death," he said calmly. The water started hovering in the air, hardening into needles.

Sasuke saw an opening at the top. Centering his chakra to his feet, he waited for the right moment. As the needles came down at him, he jumped out of the way at the last second. To Haku's astonishment, the blue genin was matching his own speed.

_Impossible, no one's faster than Haku!_

"It was a big mistake to call these ninja brats. Sasuke is one of Konoha's best fighters; Sakura, our sharpest mind; and Naruto, one of the most ruthless combatants ever born."

As Naruto neared the bridge, he sneezed.

_We can't draw this out too long_. "Haku, we can't afford to waste time here!"

"Yes Zabuza-sama."

_**BOOM! **__**BOOM!**_ _**BOOM!**_

Multiple Explosions went off around the bridge.

When the smoke cleared, Zabuza saw shuriken scattered on the ground.

Next to Sasuke stood Naruto.

"What'd I miss?"

"The fake hunter can do hand signs with just one hand," Sasuke informed.

"Really?"

"Yeah, whatever happens, don't let him stop one of your arms."

"Hmhmhm, now it's really becoming interesting," Zabuza said.

* * *

Hey. Before I leave you hanging for more, I have a very important question to ask, one that I made Kakashi asked himself. How the hell could the villagers not tell the similarities between Naruto, and his father Minato aka, the Fourth Hokage aka the savior of the village.


	6. An Explosion of Powerful Hate!

**Naruto and Sasuke: Switched**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING! DON'T UNPLUG ME! **(_pause) _**I REALLY ENJOY RIGHTING IN CAPS!**

Also, I'm getting some messages that I'm following too close to the canon events. I'm very well aware of that. Some events will be similar to canon, others will be entirely different. It's the subtle changes that make everything work.

From this point on, _**Bold and**** Italic**_=Kurama speaking in Naruto's mind while Naruto's in the real world. Just **Bold**=Kurama speaking to Naruto while Naruto's in his own mind.

**_Chapter 6: An Explosion of Powerful Hate_**

* * *

Naruto stood next to Sasuke, staring down the fake hunter-nin.

"Hmph, so, the whole brat pack is here."

"Get ready no-brows! Your little friend here won't be able to bail your ass out this time!" Naruto screamed.

"Haku." The boy nodded and gripped his senbon tighter. Zabuza increased the density of the mist around the three.

Naruto heard a sound to his left and threw a kunai into the mist.

"He could be anywhere," Sasuke muttered.

Kakashi, Sakura, and Tazuna watched as the two became engulfed by the mist. The Konoha Jonin knew that if he went in to help them, Zabuza would just strike down Tazuna and Sakura, but he couldn't leave the boys in there alone. If he made shadow clones to go in, they'd just drain him.

"Just sit back and watch Kakashi." Zabuza appeared from around the mist, seated on the railing of the bridge.

"Kakashi-sensei, what do we do?" Sakura asked.

"Right now, we can't do anything. Naruto and Sasuke are on their own."

* * *

"Sasuke, try and give us some cover." The Uchiha performed the hand signs for his clan's signature jutsu.

_FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!_ Sasuke blew a stream of fire, which quickly evaporated the water on the ground and formed a defensive wall around him and his teammate.

"Secret Jutsu: Crystal Ice Mirrors." Through the fire, the genin could see the flames flicker against something. Then there were multiple somethings that started moving through the fire. They were giant blocks of... ice! On the ice were multiple Hakus.

_FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!_ Sasuke blasted another fireball at the ice, but it only melted slightly.

"Your fire jutsus won't work on these mirrors, they just aren't hot enough." When the fires dimmed, Naruto and Sasuke saw that there were twelve mirrors on the ground, eight were in the air angled towards them, with one above the rest parallel to the ground. In each mirror, Haku stood.

_What is this, some sort of clone jutsu._

"If you surrender now, I won't have to kill you."

"You think that you can stop us with ice?!"

"Very well, do not say I didn't warn you." In an instant, both of the genin felt dozens of senbon needles cutting through their bodies.

"ENOUGH!" Naruto threw multiple bomb kunai at the mirrors. "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" he yelled right as the paper bombs went off. Two dozen chakra clones filled the area, each of them tried to rush the gaps in the ice mirror prison. However, Haku came out of a mirror, and with blinding speed, took down each clone. After the last clone went out in a puff of smoke, Haku went back into his mirrors.

"You won't get out of this prison, these mirrors allow me to move at the speed of light, so to me, you're both moving in slow motion."

"So it's not clones, that means that there really only is one of him," Sasuke said as he and Naruto got back up.

"Yeah, but remember, speed of light, we'll be lucky if we can just glance a hit off of him."

"Please, I'm giving you one more chance, just give up," Haku said. Neither of the genin answered.

"Fine." The senbon shower continued. As they both got back up, Naruto once again formed the clone hand sign. Again they rushed the mirrors, and again, Haku took them down. But Sasuke noticed something, the fake hunter-nin was moving slower.

_He must be using up his chakra keeping the jutsu going._ "Naruto, can you do that again?"

"Of course I can! SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Haku became three dimensional as he attacked the clones.

_I can see him._

Sasuke shot off another fireball aimed for the mirror Haku was heading for. However, Haku was able to make it inside the mirror first. Again he launched a barrage of senbon.

"Why don't you just finish us off?!" Naruto screamed.

"Are you asking me to kill you?"

"Hell no! I just want to know, are you afraid to kill us?"

"... Yes. I never wanted this life, this life of murder. If I kill you, I kill my humanity... But I live to protect what is precious to me, and if I must I will kill you so that he can fulfill his dream!" Haku was ready to strike, but the orange genin did something he didn't expect. He was laughing. It started out as a low chuckle, but turned into a full blown cackle.

"You live for another, how pathetic! Is this _precious person_ Zabuza?" Haku didn't move. "I'll take that as a yes."

"You know nothing. Zabuza-sama saved me when I had nothing, and I intend to repay him, even if the cost is my life!"

Haku launched more senbon, and this time, they were stuck in the genins' flesh. Now Naruto and Sasuke looked like walking pin cushions. Even though chakra exhaustion was starting to settle in, Naruto performed the shadow clone jutsu. As Haku took down the clones, something happened to Sasuke. His eyes went from black to blood red. A circle surrounded his pupils; the one on his right eye had two tomoe, while his left only had one. Sasuke had awakened the Sharingan. Even though it was incomplete, he was able to see Haku's movements.

_**Kit, you're running low on chakra.**_

_What's your point?_

**_If you break the seal, you will be able to use my own._**

_You're just going to give me your chakra? What's the catch?_

**_What makes you think there's a catch? I told you, if you die, I die._**

_I get that, but I get the feeling there's another reason._

**_Hmph, I was really hoping you'd be much dumber. Fine, there may have been a small chance you would've lost all control of your mind, and I could break out and kill everyone._**

_You really thought I would just break the seal that keeps you in? Well, I do get the whole 'living' point of your argument. Maybe I should..._ Naruto was cut off from his thoughts as more senbon pierced his skin. When Naruto looked over to Sasuke, he saw the Sharingan. Instantly, his eyes hardened. The wretched eyes had shown themselves.

_You know what Kyuubi, I think a little help may be appreciated, but you're not getting my body._

**_You are really no fun._**

* * *

Back on the bridge, Naruto and Sasuke were on their last legs.

"It's time to end this," Haku said. Before he could deliver the kill blows, something stopped him. It was an explosion of... RED CHAKRA! It surrounded the orange genin, above him, the red chakra shroud took the form of a giant fox head.

"Let me show you what I fight to protect." Naruto's eyes became red, his pupils changing from dots to slits, his nails turning to claws, and his canines becoming fangs.

Even without the Sharingan, Sasuke could see the evil-feeling chakra.

_What is this, chakra isn't supposed to be visible, and it sure as hell isn't red!_ Sasuke thought.

On the outside of the mist, the ninja could also feel the chakra explosion, with only one of them fully knowing what it was.

_Did Naruto break the seal? No, he only weakened it._

"Kakashi, what is this, some trick of yours?" Zabuza said from the railing.

"No Zabuza, this is far worse than me."

"Sensei, what is it then?"

"I wish I could tell you Sakura."

* * *

"What are you doing Naruto?!" Sasuke yelled.

"Fighting to live." The senbon in Naruto's skin exploded outwards. Steam came off of his wounds as he started to heal himself. In a burst of speed, Naruto ran up to one of the ice mirrors. Rearing back his fist covered in red chakra, he shattered the mirror with a single blow. Haku and Sasuke were stunned by this display of raw strength.

_What is he, some kind of monster?!_ Haku thought. _I can't draw this out any longer._

Haku threw more senbon at Naruto, and again, he forced them out of his skin. Using the momentary distraction, Haku appeared out of the ice mirror at the top, holding a needle he was going to drive through the boys skull. But Naruto sensed Haku's presence. Giving an animalistic scream, he sent out a wave of red chakra, which shattered the ice mirrors, and knocked back Haku and Sasuke. It also had the added effect of dispersing Zabuza's chakra laced mist.

* * *

As the mist cleared the people who weren't in it saw a strange red glow. When it cleared, they saw Naruto enveloped in red chakra that gave off an ominous presence.

In front of him, Haku was sprawled out on the ground. Sasuke was on his hands and knees, needles still sticking out of him.

It took all of Sakura's willpower not to act on the urge to run over to him, she had to protect Tazuna.

"K-Kakashi-sensei, what's going on?"

"Something really bad."

"KAKASHI!" Said jonin turned to face Zabuza.

"What are you doing?!" the mist demon snarled.

"I already told you Zabuza, this is something far worse than me."

"What is that brat, some kind of monster."

Back with Naruto, he saw Haku shakily come to his legs.

_This, this power. I've never felt anything like it. This is a cornered animal, forcing itself to keep going._ Using his last bit of chakra, Haku flew through hand seals. "Secret Jutsu: A Thousand Needles of Death!" He sent the water needles straight at Naruto, who ran head on into them. Most of them he was able to dodge with blinding speed. The ones that came near him simply evaporated. When he was close enough, Naruto pulled back his fist for another strike, one that would land its mark. Jumping in the air, he smashed his fist into the pearl white mask, shattering it and sending its wearer far back. Haku flew towards Zabuza, his head facing his master.

Zabuza stared. Shocked. He had personally trained Haku to be the perfect killing tool. And this Konoha child took him out, with one punch no less.

"You're called the Demon of Kirigakure, well get ready to see what a true demon can do," Naruto said/growled.

Zabuza regained his composure. Jumping off the rail, he gripped the handle of his Kubikiribocho (Decapitating Carving Knife).

"What are you brat, you're sensei won't give me a straight answer."

"Why don't you find out for yourself."

"Hmph, your death wish." Zabuza charged the little punk, sword poised to strike.

"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" What looked like a fifty Narutos appeared around Zabuza, each with the animalistic look.

While they were distracted, Haku slowly rose to his feet. He saw only orange. When his vision cleared, he saw all the Narutos surrounding Zabuza.

Ox → Monkey → Hare → Rat → Boar → Bird → Ox → Horse → Bird → Rat → Tiger → Dog → Tiger → Snake → Ox → Ram → Snake → Boar → Ram → Rat → Yang Water → Monkey → Bird → Dragon → Bird → Ox → Horse → Ram → Tiger → Snake → Rat → Monkey → Hare → Boar → Dragon → Ram → Rat → Ox → Monkey → Bird → Yang Water → Rat → Boar → Bird. "WATER STYLE: WATER DRAGON JUTSU!" A giant serpent-like dragon formed from the water under the bridge. It crashed onto the bridge, destroying the clones. When the water subsided, the orange brat was nowhere to be seen. Zabuza saw a small black object coming to the ground. It was a kunai with a paper bomb attached to the handle. In midair, the kunai transformed into the missing genin. He landed on the bridge, forming a small crater.

"What are you?"

Speaking only loud enough for Zabuza to hear, Naruto said, "a true demon!"

* * *

CLIFFHANGER! I know, I'm evil.

HELLO EVERYBODY! I have a question, and a poll for you guys. It's a matter of Naruto's summoned creatures. I know that he won't be summoning any time soon, but I know that having him sign a contract with the toads is right out. Should I maybe have him sign a contract with snakes, or maybe some other animal? Review with suggestions, but remember, I reserve ULTIMATE DESCISION!


	7. Battle on the Bridge: The True Demon

**Naruto and Sasuke: Switched**

I'm not going to announce my decision for Naruto's summoned creature because I haven't come to a conclusion. Keep on reviewing with your suggestions. Please.

_**Chapter 7: Battle on the Bridge: The True Demon**_

For Sakura, she was paralyzed with fear. Fear not caused by the giant gray man with a ridiculously large butcher's knife. Her fear was her short teammate covered in chakra that burned like fire. Then there was Sasuke, who looked like he'd die from blood loss at any second.

"Sakura, go help Sasuke, I'll protect Tazuna," Kakashi said. The pink-haired girl immediately ran over to her crush.

"Sasuke, hold still. I'm going to try and get the needles out." Carefully, she gripped one of the senbon in his back. It was lodged in there really well. The Uchiha winced when she pulled it out, and then another, but his mind was too focused on the stand-off between Naruto and Zabuza to focus on the pain. When he looked over to them, Sakura saw that his eyes were red with black tomoe.

_The Sharingan._ "Hold on Sasuke, it's almost over," she said maternally. Sasuke winced again as a needle that was thrown extra hard was just pulled out from his arm. "That's the last of them." The ground in front of Sakura was littered with bloody senbon.

"Thanks Sakura," he said through gritted teeth. Slowly, she helped him onto his feet, and with her left arm supporting him, she took him back over to Kakashi. Even though Sasuke had just gone through reverse acupuncture he hurriedly limped back to his sensei. "Sasuke, what's going on with Naruto?"

"I don't know Sakura, he just exploded with red chakra."

"Is it some sort of kekkai genkai? (bloodline limit)"

"Maybe, have you ever heard of kekkai genkai that uses red chakra?"

"No, maybe Kakashi sensei has."

Though Zabuza saw Sasuke and Sakura limp back toward Kakashi, his attention was solely focused on the little genin in front of him who was radiating a power the likes of which the Mist Demon had never known. He had heard rumors about Yagura, the Mizukage he tried to assassinate; how he held a great weapon that could level whole villages while leaving nothing that suggested anything ever stood there. He also heard rumors of him simply being the puppet for someone working behind the scenes. The latter he'd never paid much attention to. But now it seemed like this boy held the former.

Tired of standing, Naruto shot off for Zabuza like a rocket. He ran on all fours, tearing up bits of the bridge that fell underneath his claws. Zabuza brought his decapitating carving knife down in an overhead strike. Naruto sidestepped the blade, and grabbing onto the sword's mune (back edge/the narrow part that isn't sharp), he aimed a kick strait for Zabuza's neck. Using his left arm, the swordsman blocked the kick, though not without the bones in his arm getting a good bruise.

Behind them, Haku slowly regained consciousness. Pulling himself to his knees, he coughed up blood. In his peripheral vision, something red caught his attention. It was the Konoha genin, Naruto. He had Zabuza's left arm occupied with his foot, while the right arm still held Kubikiribocho. Using his free right foot, Naruto landed a solid hit to No-brows' gut. However, the gray man grabbed his leg with the hand that belonged to the arm that stopped the earlier kick. Twisting around, Zabuza brought the blond through the air and smashed him into the floor of the incomplete bridge. Gripping the stone beneath him, the Nine-Tails powered Naruto threw two chunks of concrete straight at Zabuza's face. Letting go of the boy's legs the rogue-nin easily caught them in midair. While the man's arm blocked his view, Naruto sent a barrage of punches into every inch of Zabuza's upper torso. Before Zabuza could use his sword, Naruto smashed his elbow into the hand resting on the handle. Grinning like a madman, the orange child latched onto the man's shoulder, his legs wrapped around his (Zabuza's) waist. Currently, Zabuza was really regretting wearing his headband sideways. While not conventional, a very practical use of a forehead protector in a fight was to use the metal part to augment the strength behind a head-butt; which was precisely what Naruto did. While he only received a little recoil, Zabuza seemed to have a concussion. His vision was blurry and his movements erratic.

"Time to end this!" Jumping back, Naruto charged Zabuza, red chakra lining his fist, pulled back for the final blow.

Kakashi knew that he wouldn't be able to intercept Naruto in time.

"Naruto's going to..." Sasuke, nor Sakura could pull the words out of their mouths.

Naruto could hear his heart pounding faster and faster as he came closer and closer to finishing off Zabuza. But before he could run his hand through the Kiri-nin, a blue flash put itself in front of him. He felt his hand go through cloth, then flesh, bone, flesh again, more cloth, and finally, air. Looking up, he found the face of the fool who stood in his path. It was the boy Zabuza called Haku. Naruto recognized his face. It was that boy he had mistaken for a woman the other day.

_Flashback Montage_

"Are you training for a specific person, or is it just for yourself?"

* * *

"When there is something that a person genuinely wants to keep safe, then they truly become strong."

* * *

"You will find someone to protect. And when you do, you will become very strong."

* * *

"I live to protect what is precious to me, and if I must I will kill you so that he can fulfill his dream!"

* * *

"Zabuza-sama saved me when I had nothing, and I intend to repay him, even if the cost is my life!"

_End Flashback Montage_

Blood streamed down Haku's face, mixing in with tears. "Z... Z-Zabuza-Sama *_pant_*, I'm sorry *_cough_* *_pant_* *_cough_* that I couldn't be *_pant_* *_pant_* a better tool." Naruto pulled his hand out, his eyes staying blue for the past minute. He stared at his hand bathed in the boy's blood. Blood that he drew.

"... You've done your job well Haku." Zabuza kicked Haku on top of the orange genin, who had clearly stopped using that strange red chakra. Grabbing his sword from the stone, he raised it above his head ready to slice them both in half. Though no one could see, a small tear rolled down from his left eye. But as he brought down the giant blade, rumbling came from beneath him. Was it an earthquake? No. No one else seemed to notice. From out of the ground, eight ninken latched to every part of his body. Looking to his right, he saw Kakashi who was... holding lightning. Blue chakra was forming in a circle, and gathering into his palm as lightning.

_First the red chakra, now holding lightning, are these two some kind of freaks!_

"It's over Zabuza!" Kakashi said. But before Kakashi could deliver his own kill blow, they all heard strong laughter from the end of the bridge. Looking to the end, they saw a crowed of men with all sorts of blunt and bladed weapons. In front of them stood a short man in a business suit. He had a thin mustache and wore a pair of sunglasses.

"Gato?"

_So that's the little runt?_

"Hehehehe, well, so much for the Demon of Kiri," the diminutive man cockily laughed. "Tied down by dogs and at the mercy of a one-eyed weirdo and his brats."

"GATO! What's the meaning of this?!" Zabuza managed to ask while the ninken were still latched onto him.

"Well, since you can't get the job done, I've terminated your contract. These fine men here are going to kill Tazuna, the Konoha ninja, and you. Plus, the one that kills you will be getting the money I was going to pay you with." Gato picked up a rock. "And this is for breaking my wrist ya' snot-nosed brat!" The business man hurled the rock straight at Haku's head, resulting in a cut on the left temple of the boy's corpse.

Inside, all Zabuza wanted was to gut Gato himself, and feed his organs to Kisame. So he decided to do just that. He pulled down the bandages that covered his mouth, so that all could see the jagged teeth that only true Swordsmen of the Mist possessed. "Kakashi, brat, I don't work for Gato anymore, so we have no reason to fight." Though normally Kakashi would've protested, he found Zabuza was right. Kakashi released the ninken.

"You're right Zabuza, I believe we have a common enemy now." Gato nervously ran behind his army of thugs.

"Finish them you fools!"

Naruto gripped his kunai, but Kakashi stopped him. "Naruto, let's let Zabuza handle this." Naruto conceded. Zabuza pulled Kubikiribocho out of the ground, and stared down Gato's mercenaries. With a newfound vigor, Zabuza charged at the army.

Though they raised their weapons against him, they were unable to hold the Mist Demon back, especially when he carried that large sword. Those that were lucky enough to avoid its reach ran for all that their worthless lives were worth. Now only Gato stood, near the edge of the bridge, faced by a giant man with a powerful sword.

"St-stay back!"

"You should've stayed in your mansion Gato, you'd still be living." Grinning a jagged grin, Zabuza charged at Gato. In that span of time, Gato could've sworn that he saw a demon behind Zabuza. Though he never got the chance to tell anyone, as in the next second, his top half had fallen into the ocean. His lower half was still standing on the edge of the bridge, until Zabuza kicked it into the water.

* * *

The deed was done, Gato was no more, so there was no need for him to stay. Kneeling down next to Haku's body, he said, "Haku, I hope, that when my time does come, I may be able to go to the place you're going to. Hmph, who am I kidding, I'll probably land in the same spot Gato's in."

_Maybe not Zabuza, you two may just meet again someday_, Kakashi thought.

As Zabuza knelt next to the boy, he felt something cold touch him. Looking up, he saw that it started to snow.

_Haku, are you doing this?_ "After all you've done for me, the very least I can do now, is be at your side now."

* * *

All through the night, and into part of the morning, Zabuza dug Haku's grave by hand. It stood on a cliff, overlooking all of Wave; if there was a more beautiful view, he had yet to find it. With Gato dead, and his company in ruin, all of Wave held festivals in memory of this momentous occasion. Though they had some ways to go to rebuild their country, it was going to be a lot easier with the completion of the bridge, which Tazuna himself had dubbed, The Bridge of the Red Whirlpool, after the symbols on the back of Naruto and Kakashi's outfits, and to symbolize their new lifeline with Konoha. On Haku's grave, Zabuza placed the boy's mask on a cross.

For Haku's wake, Zabuza told them of the child's life. Because of civil war in Kirigakure, wielders of kekkai genkai were slaughtered. When Haku's father found out about the ability his wife and child possessed, the ability to control water without hand seals, he killed her, and was about to tearfully finish off his son, had Haku not killed him himself. Zabuza told them that he never lied to Haku, that he always knew he was only a tool for his (Zabuza's) own gains, and he accepted it, for it gave him a reason to live. The feelings at the improvised funeral were strong.

"Zabuza, I hope that after all of this, you don't plan another coup d'état against the Mizukage," Kakashi said to the Mist Demon. All Zabuza carried was a backpack and his sword.

"Hmph, one day I will rule Kiri, but if I try it like I did last time, it would only disgrace Haku's memory. So for now, I'll bide my time." Before he left, he turned to Naruto, "kid, always remember, no matter how strong you are, a ninja will always be nothing more than a tool for someone to use."

Looking into Zabuza's eyes with all his soul, the blond said, "well I'm just going to find a path that'll never end in regret. Believe it No-brows."

"Too bad you weren't born in Kiri, you would've been one damn shinobi." Kakashi and his students turned their backs to Zabuza. While they headed for Konoha, Zabuza wasn't entirely sure where he was going to go.

* * *

"So when do we make our move," Sasuke whispered to Sakura.

"When we're at least halfway to Konoha." Ever since the quartet had left Wave, Sasuke and Sakura were subtly planning to get to the very bottom of Naruto's secret. They were at least seven paces behind their sensei and teammate. After the fiasco on the bridge, they knew that Kakashi and Naruto would soon run out of excuses to keep them in the dark.

"Sasuke, let's go over what we know and what we found out." The Uchiha nodded. "Okay, we know Naruto's an orphan, and that the village hates him. Now his physical appearance. The most obvious trait are his whisker marks."

Sasuke took over, "and from what we saw on the bridge, they widen when he uses that red chakra, which also makes him more animal-like. He also seems to know Hokage-sama on a personal level." Both of them recalled his outburst that resulted in their C-rank turned A-rank mission.

"What else do we know about him?" Both thought hard for any details that they overlooked.

"Oh! He was born on October 10th," Sasuke said.

"How do you know?"

"It was a few years ago. Remember at the Academy when we had to fill out those sheets of paper with certain things about us. I sat next to him when we were filling them out."

"October 10th, October 10th," Sakura kept saying it more slowly than last time. "Why is that familiar?"

"Hey guys, hurry up, you're starting to fall behind!" Kakashi called to them. Both of them agreed to resume their collective pondering later, while they silently thought to themselves.

_I know October 10th was important in Konoha._

_But why?_

A sudden realization came to them. The event that was the only event to rival the annihilation of Sasuke's whole clan. Both prayed that they were wrong.

Eventually, as dusk began to creep inward, they found themselves in a clearing.

"Well, since we're almost home, and since it's getting late, why don't we set up camp here? Sakura, Sasuke, you two can set up the tents, I'll go get food, and Naruto can collect firewood." Both of them had a small feeling that it wasn't just random decision that Kakashi had given them a task that would leave them alone. As he and Naruto went to do their chores, the remaining two genin returned to their former conversation.

"You figure out what happened?"

"I think so? What about you?"

"Let's say it at the same time," the Haruno suggested.

"3."

"2."

"1... Nine-Tails."

"Maybe it's just a coincidence, I bet a lot of kids were born that day." Sasuke didn't even believe his own words.

"The villagers always called him, 'Demon Brat,' or, 'Fox Bastard.' I can't believe we didn't see it." At that moment, Sakura felt ashamed to be called the smartest kunoichi of her generation.

"So Naruto is a demon. I don't get it? Why would they let a demon go to school, let alone the one that attacked the village all those years ago. And you've seen how the villagers hate him, would a demon take abuse for twelve years?"

"Remember what Kakashi-sensei said, how only Naruto could tell us his secret, I don't think he mentioned anything about us figuring it out on our own."

"Howdy do there guys." The two almost jumped out of their skins when Kakashi just appeared out of nowhere with a net of fish in his hands.

"K-K-Kakashi-sensei, h-how long were you standing there?!" Sakura stuttered.

"Long enough to overhear you're little discussion. So you know about the Kyuubi," Kakashi stated rather than asked.

"We know there's a connection, but we need Naruto to tell us the truth."

Kakashi simply sighed. This was an aspect of teaching that he really wished he could avoid, but knew he couldn't. After Sasuke and Sakura finished setting up the tents, Naruto came back with his arms overflowing with stones and dead branches. He placed the rocks in a circle and put the twigs inside. Grabbing two rocks, he banged them against each other until they sparked a fire. After an awkward silence for the Uchiha and Haruno, they decided to take their chances.

"Naruto... we know about the Kyuubi," Sasuke said. The blond's fish was still in his mouth and stayed there. His response when he took it out wasn't what they expected.

"Hmhmhm. So you figured it out. So you two aren't as thickheaded as I thought." The blond knew that it would only be a matter of time for his secret to finish being that.

"So, _are_ you the Nine-Tails or not?" Sakura asked.

_Might as well make sure they don't fall under stupidity's grip even more._ "I'm not that creature. It's just that those bastard villagers are too dense to tell the difference between a kid, and a monster larger than the Hokage Monument. What I am, is a jinchuuriki, we're humans that hold tailed beasts inside our bodies..."

"Wait, there are more of them?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah. The Kyuubi told me there were nine of them, him included."

"You talked to him?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, he's the source of the red chakra. He's why I can perform the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and why my chakra control was shot to hell."

"Wait, how'd you even get that thing in you?"

"That worthless Fourth Hokage sealed it inside of me." That was the info that really blew the two away. Throughout all of their time at the Academy, the instructors all talked highly of the Yondaime (Fourth Fire Shadow). They spoke of how the brave Fourth Hokage of Konoha had vanquished the wretched fox bastard. Now all of that had come crashing down in the course of a single night. Naruto threw his scraps away and went into his own tent. His teammates just stayed in their seats with their sensei.

"Kakashi-sensei, is all of that true?" Sakura asked.

"Yes. The reason The Fourth sealed the Kyuubi into Naruto is because he was born on the day of the attack, so his chakra coils were still fresh, they hadn't hardened yet. The seal that the Fourth used had a gap put into it, which allows the Kyuubi's chakra to mix with Naruto's, and because it's been with him since birth, his chakra reserves are larger than my own."

"So with the proper training..." Sakura began.

"...Naruto could become one of the strongest shinobi in the world." Sasuke finished.

* * *

Inside Naruto's tent, his dreams had started taking another interesting turn of events. He found himself in a barren area, the light of the full moon shining brightly above him. Around him stood eight gigantic creatures. He only saw their silhouette's but he could make out what looked like tails behind him. Suddenly, a large creature with a single tail behind it started to lurch towards him. Looking to the other creatures in the hopes that one of them would do something, Naruto slowly backed away from the looming mass. Even the Kyuubi was nowhere to be found. The single-tailed behemoth reared back its massive fist.

"**DIIIIIEEEE!**" it yelled in a shrill voice as it brought its fist down on the human speck. Naruto awoke, sweating, and breathing heavily.

"What are you trying to say fox?" he muttered to himself.

* * *

"You two are aware that you aren't to breathe a word of this to anyone in Konoha?" Kakashi told Sasuke and Sakura.

"No offense sensei, but you'd have to be crazy to think something like that can be kept hidden from a village," Sakura said.

_NARUTO'S GOT A FREAKIN' DEMON SHOVED IN HIS GUT, AND A WHOLE GENERATION DOESN'T KNOW A THING ABOUT IT. I'D EXPLODE FROM NOT TELLING ANYONE!_ Inner Sakura screamed.

"So did the Kyuubi kill Naruto's parents?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes."

"Who were they? Were they ninja?"

"That's another secret," the jonin answered.

"How many secrets are around him," the pinkette asked.

"More than you'd think. Well, I'm going to get some sleep, be sure you two don't stay up too late."

The two just sat there, as the fire started to lessen with each passing moment. Without saying a word, both of them went to their own tents. Each of them recapped recent events. They went up against a Kiri jonin and his deadly friend; saw him bisect his former employer; kill an entire army of thugs single-handedly. On top of that they had just found out their teammate had a demon sealed inside of him; not just any demon, the very demon that attacked their village twelve years ago. They saw him use its power to literally punch through someone, and keep a ruthless jonin on his toes.

_Maybe the D-rank missions weren't so bad after all_, Sasuke thought.

* * *

**Author's Note**: So there you have it, Sasuke and Sakura learn about Kurama way sooner than they do in canon. Also, in upcoming chapters, I'm going to put Hanabi Hyuga (Hinata's little sister) in. Should I make her a little sister who's worried for her big sister, or a snobby little brat. Her full importance to the story, as well as other characters' _importance_ will be revealed all in due time. (Now I grin evilly with my hands folded in front of my face).

I don't really know if Zabuza knows Kisame, I'm just assuming.

Also, before I leave, I've gotten a review that says I plagiarized the chapter of Hiyuusha's one-shot that this story is based off of (chapter 1). If you reread chapter 1, at the bottom of it I said, and I quote:

"**I was impressed by hiyuusha, and he said I could work on this story, along with chapters 1&4 of his What If? story. I hope I can live up to his standards.**"

_End quote_

I was given permission by hiyuusha him/herself to expand on his/her brilliant idea. If you don't believe me, you can ask hiyuusha him/herself. I've got nothing to hide.


	8. Return to Konoha: New Arrivals

**Naruto and Sasuke: Switched**

_**Chapter 8: Return to Konoha: New Arrivals**_

Hello. I think I've come to my decision regarding Naruto's animal summon, which will be, (drumroll for effect):  
**FOXES.** The foxes will treat Kurama, the Nine-Tails, as a god among mortals.

Since Kurama is the only fox shown in the series, I'm going to be making a new place in the Naruto world, the Fox Forest. It probably won't appear in this chapter, but it will in future chapters. Also, the biggest foxes Naruto meets will **NOT** be Gamabunta-sized, because that privilege belongs to Kurama himself, and only himself.

**Kurama: KNOW YOUR PLACE MORTALS!**

As **FrozenFlamingFire** suggested, I'm going to make Hanabi a snobby brat. Like I said before, her importance to the story, along with others', will come eventually.

* * *

As the gates of Konoha came into view, Kakashi's pupils couldn't be more relieved. Well all of them except for Naruto. Sleeping in the forest was, a relief. Before becoming a genin, he was never allowed to leave the village walls, so he was always locked in with the hateful stares of the villagers. Leaving on that mission, it gave him a way out. Now he was going back to a place where only a few people ever cared about him, and while he was glad for them in his life, sooner or later they'd end up dead. Shaking those thoughts from his mind, he just focused on the road in front of him.

The rest of the way back Sasuke and Sakura were still in disbelief that Naruto, the Naruto that dressed in obnoxious orange, who practically came from no clan, held a giant natural disaster inside of him his whole life.

"Okay, since we just got back, I'm not going to assign any training. Just go home and get some rest." The genin did just that.

* * *

The very next morning, after each of them had breakfast, they went down to their usual bridge to wait for their sensei. Though ninja were trained to expect the unexpected, these young ones could not expect this. Kakashi sensei came only half-an-hour late, instead of his usual three-to-four hours.

"Uh, Kakashi-sensei, are you alright?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm fine Sasuke, why do you ask?"

"Well, it's just, you've been showing up earlier than you usually do for things that aren't involved with serious missions," Sakura added.

"Well, as I was walking the path of life, I started thinking that I needed to get my priorities straight," the jonin said in the most corny philosopher's voice.

"Ojii-san ordered you to stop being a lazy assed slacker didn't he?" Naruto said from his seat on the railing.

"Yeah."

_Typical_, Sasuke and Sakura thought. Kakashi's carefree attitude was at a point where politicians were needed to keep him in line.

"Okay, here's how things are going to be, Hokage-sama, has assigned us a list of D-rank missions for the day."

"After the Wave fiasco, doing chores actually seems nice," Sakura joked.

For the rest of the day they did rather, _un-ninja-like_ activities; pulling weeds, picking up litter, walking dogs and the like. While they were walking the hounds, Naruto had a little trouble with the biggest one, which he had expectedly been paired with. To say this dog was big was an understatement; more like someone had managed to combine the mass of three regular dogs, and shove it into one body. When they were bringing them back to the owners, they walked by Team 8. Sasuke and Sakura remembered Shino's advice about keeping Naruto and Kiba away from each other, but right now, the dogs on their leashes were acting crazy from the smell of the dog user, and his ninken.

"Tch, you know that's animal cruelty right?" Kiba said.

"What shit's coming out of your mouth today dog-breath?" Naruto shot back.

"Keeping these poor creatures on leashes," Kiba said as he started rubbing the dogs tummies'.

"Poor creatures, this behemoth almost dragged me into a mine field, it took six clones just to pull it away."

"Hmph, you're the one that needs a leash."

"What was that mutt?!"

"It's so obvious that these dogs here are way more civilized and refined than you," the Inuzuka mocked.

Sakura tried to find something to pull their attention to before a fight broke out. Fortunately, something genuinely intriguing caught her attention. "Hey, Hinata, you don't look too good." The Hyuga heiress's fair skin had a slightly grayish tint to it, while slightly darker gray marks were underneath her half-lidded eyes.

"Oh, it's nothing, I just didn't get much sleep last night." Technically it was the truth; she did have trouble sleeping, but it was not because of insomnia or too much sugar. In the middle of the night, her cousin Neji announced that her father Hiashi wanted an audience with her. When she made it to the sparring room, as that was where she usually went when her father wanted an _audience_ with her, she found Hanabi sitting on a mat on one side of the room.

_Flashback_

"Hinata, take your place," Hiashi commanded her. Taking her place on the other side of the mat.

"How long have you been a genin now daughter?" He asked with no shift in his tone.

"A-a-about a month now, father," she timidly said.

"Tonight, you will spar against Hanabi as an evaluation of how much you have progressed." Hinata's sister reflexively got on her feet, as did the elder Hyuga child. Both fell into the basic gentle fist stance.

"Both of your goals is to strike the other one down first. Hopefully you've improved somewhat Hinata," he said coldly.

Though Hinata had the age, size, and experience advantage, she couldn't bring herself to harm Hanabi. Though the young girl resembled Hiashi in appearance, she was still one of the only things Hinata had left to remember her mother by.

It was this mercy that Hanabi decided to exploit, and landed several Juken strikes on her sister. Although they weren't powered by chakra, they still followed the same principle of hitting important points on the body, which all Hyuga were drilled in from the moment they could form their first sentence. After ten minutes, Hinata was on the floor, sweaty, aching, and out of breath.

"It is clear that you have not improved at all. You are still able to be beaten by your sister, who is five years your junior, it is unbecoming of a Hyuga, especially one from the Main House."

"Ye-*_pant_*yes father. I will *_pant_* try h-harder."

"Even if you try, I doubt you will improve much, if at all," Hiashi said as he left, Hanabi following without giving Hinata a passing glance. After she regained her breath, Hinata sorely walked back to her own room. As she stiffly layed on her bed, she looked over to the picture of her mother.

_Why did you have to go?_ Hinata mentally asked herself.

_End Flashback_

"You sure you're okay?" Sakura asked.

"Y-yes, I'm, f-fine." She tried to avoid making eye contact with anyone.

"Well, we got to get these guys back to their owners, guess we'll see you around," Sasuke said as the two groups parted ways.

When the three were about halfway to the Hokage Tower, they ran into Team 10. Choji, as usual, was eating a bag of chips, Shikamaru looked like he'd rather be anywhere else, and Ino was glaring at Sakura, who moved closer to Sasuke. However, when she caught sight of Naruto, she started going at a slower pace than her teammates, though they didn't notice.

"Hey guys!" Choji yelled as he waved.

"Man, that looks really troublesome," Shikamaru said.

Ino still remained quiet. This surprised both Sakura, and the male members of Asuma's team, who knew that whenever Sakura and/or Sasuke was around, she'd be coming onto the Uchiha, or throwing insults to the Haruno about her abnormally large forehead. But she was just quiet.

"Ino, you okay?" the Akimichi heir asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, excuse me," she quickly took off. Naruto couldn't help but internally smirk.

"So, uh, how'd your first C-rank mission go?" Choji asked.

Sasuke told them about escorting Tazuna, and the encounter with Kiri's Demon ninja, but purposely omitted the part about Naruto using the power of the very creature that attacked their village.

Though Choji kept eating his chips, he slowed down his consumption rate a lot, which really said something. "Hn, it sounds impressive, but all too troublesome," Shikamaru lazily said.

Naruto handed his leash to Sasuke. "Bathroom," being his only response.

"Hey Shikamaru, have you noticed Ino started acting weird when she saw Naruto?" Choji asked.

"She's always weird, but it wasn't like her to just run away, I'm guessing it still has to do with that fight."

On the way back, Sasuke and Sakura managed to put two and two together, and concluded that, with the Fox's help, Naruto was able to trap Ino in his mindscape.

* * *

At the Hokage Tower, Team 7 returned the dogs and collected their pay. "Well, I have paper work to do, why don't you three take the day off; you can work on your teamwork." _Cause Kami knows you need it_, Kakashi thought.

"So uh, Sasuke, you wanna practice, o-or something?"

"Sure. How bout you Naruto?"

Naruto gave a nasal sigh. "I'm going home to rest."

Before he could leave, all of them noticed a brown painted box with eye-holes cut out. It crawled on six legs towards them.

_I thought I told this kid to get lost_, Naruto thought as he realized that only one person could crap out disguises that bad. Without warning, he threw two kunai which fell halfway into the box. Tiny squeals came from inside. Pulling on wire strings that were attached to the knife handles, the blond yanked it into the air to reveal its inhabitants. There was Konohamaru Sarutobi crouched on the ground with two other kids, a girl with orange hair held up in two large pigtails, and another boy with short brown hair, with a snot wad hanging from his nose.

"Ha! You saw through our clever disguise, that's just what I'd expect from you, my rival!" Konohamaru practically screamed.

A vein started making its way onto Naruto's forehead. "First off, stop calling me that. Second, your disguise was as far from clever as it could get; for one thing, there are no square rocks; second, the lines here don't even remotely match up with the side walk; third, I can see the eyeholes cut out in the front; and fourth, I saw you coming."

"See, I told you he was good!" the Hokage's grandson told his wide-eyed friends.

"Uh Naruto, who are these guys?" Sasuke asked.

The children answered for him.

"I'm the sassiest kunoichi in the Academy, I'm Moegi!"  
"I love algebra, I'm Udon!"  
"And I'm the strongest of the Leaf ninja, I'm Konohamaru! And together we are..." The three joined together. "THE KONOHAMARU NINJA SQUAD!" The poses that came with the little performance were a bit _much_, to put it nicely.

Now the vein was becoming much more prominent.

"So boss, are you reconsidering your decision?!"

"Decision?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, boss said that if I could learn this super cool jutsu, then he'd become my sensei!"

"Have you mastered the technique yet?" Naruto asked, his arms crossed and his foot tapping impatiently.

Konohamaru grew nervous and started rubbing the back of his head. "Eh, hehe, not quite yet..."

"Then get lost brat."

"Awww come on!"

"Naruto, can we have a word?" Sasuke took Naruto into a corner with him and Sakura.

"So why does that kid call you boss?" the Uchiha stated plainly.

"It's because I'm the only person in this whole stinking village who doesn't give a shit because he's the Sandaime's grandson."

"That kid is the grandson of Hokage-sama?"

"So what jutsu did you tell him to learn?" Sakura already had a good idea of what it was.

"The Shadow Clone jutsu." Suspicions confirmed.

"How'd he even get _you_ to make a deal?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Well..."

_Flashback_

Naruto sat in front of the Hokage, who sat looking over his official ninja registration photo. After a few stamps, "okay Naruto, you're officially a ninja." When the boy took the papers back, the door to the room creaked open.

"DIE OLD MAN!" In ran a boy holding a shuriken, wearing a gray helmet, gray shorts, and a yellow shirt with a red leaf symbol. However, before he was halfway across the room, he tripped on his stupidly long, blue scarf, and powerfully slammed his head on the hardwood floor. As he rubbed his bruised cranium, a man with sunglasses and a blue jonin outfit, sans the standard chunin flak jacket, came in.

"Honorable Grandson, what happened?!" he frantically asked.

_I can't say I tripped over my scarf, he'll never let me live it down_. Pointing toward Naruto, "it was him, you tripped me didn't you?!"

"What was that brat?" Naruto asked, his voice laced with rage.

"Is this true? Did you hurt the Honorable Grandson?" _I would expect as much from the Fox Brat_.

Naruto looked straight to Ebisu's glasses. "I didn't do anything; that stupid kid tripped over his own scarf."

"QUIET! You would do well to show respect to the Honorable Grandson of the Honorable Third Hokage. Especially _you_."

"I don't give a fuck if he's the ojiisan's mother. I won't take crap from a little snot, or a snob."

_This guy's different_.

After Naruto left the room, "Honorable Grandson, do not pay attention to him. He is only a no clan ruffian that you needn't associate yourself with. Stick to my elite training, and you will become a fine Hokage in no time." Ebisu was so caught up in his monologue, that he didn't notice Konohamaru had left before the end of the first sentence.

"Honorable Grandson? Honorable Grandson?"

"I think he went after Naruto," Hiruzen said.

"WHAT?! THAT'S EVEN WORSE! HONORABLE GRANDSOOON!" Ebisu screamed as he ran down the hall.

_That's the twentieth assassination attempt, and that just counts for today. And if he's after Naruto, it's too bothersome to think about_.

As Naruto walked down the streets, he noticed part of a fence with horizontal boards, with a tuft of brown hair sticking out of it.

_Oi, he's hopeless_. "I know you're there."

"HA! I expected you to be good," the boy from earlier said as he dropped the pathetic disguise.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to train me!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I need a new sensei, and I hear you know this super cool jutsu!"

"Get lost kid, my time's not worth wasting on you. But a little advice, if you stay with that closet pervert snob Ebisu, you're going to be hopeless forever." However, as Naruto was about to find out, Konohamaru was rather, _persistent_. Throughout the day, he kept popping up in just about any and every random place he could find, still wanting Naruto to be his trainer.

"Pleeeaase?" he asked for the, Naruto had actually lost track of how many times he'd asked. But a decent indicator was his foot tapping so hard and so fast that a small hole in the ground was appearing.

"Pleeeeeaaaaase?"

"..."

"Pleeeeeeeaaaa..."

"SHUT YOUR TRAP SHITHEAD! IF I SHOW YOU A FREAKIN JUTSU, WILL YOU TAKE YOUR ASS AND BOTHER SOMEONE ELSE?!" Konohamaru eagerly nodded.

* * *

In the forest on the outskirts of the village, Konohamaru eagerly awaited to see what jutsu his new sensei would show him.

"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" Instantly, ten Narutos filled the area.

"That... is... AWESOME!"

"There, I showed you, now get lost."

"Wait, you have to see if I can perform the jutsu!"

"Fine, just hurry up so I can leave."

"Okay." Konohamaru started some stretches and a few breathing exercises. "Here we go..." Focusing all his chakra. "SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" When the smoke cleared, it revealed only Konohamaru, and nothing. Taking this as his cue to leave Naruto started to walk off. But...

"Wait, aren't you going to help me?!"

"Until you can make at least two perfect Shadow Clones, you're on your own."

"Honorable Grandson, there you are!" Ebisu jumped down from a tree to his disciple. "What are you doing with this gutter urchin?" That caught Naruto's ears.

"He showed me this awesome jutsu closet-pervert-sensei."

Ebisu pushed up his glasses at the nickname his student had adopted from the fox. "And what 'awesome' jutsu could this ruffian show you?"

"It's called Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Even through his glasses, Ebisu seemed shocked and appalled.

"Huh, what's wrong closet-pervert-sensei?"

"Honorable Grandson, listen, you are not ready for such a jutsu." Ebisu looked to Naruto with a piercing glare. "YOU! You were attempting to assassinate the most Honorable Grandson!" he accused.

"Huh, what do you mean assassinate?"

"Honorable Grandson, listen carefully, you are not yet ready for such a jutsu. If you attempt it at your current level, you may very well die from chakra exhaustion."

"But, boss can make ten clones like it's nothing?"

_Of course, the demon can perform it easily. No doubt he was masking it as training to cover his true motives_.

"The kid wanted me to show him a jutsu, if it were up to me, I'd have chained him up and put him in a closet that locks on the inside."

"THAT IS ENOUGH! You will not talk about the Honorable Grandson in such a vulgar manner any longer!"

"What are you gonna do closet perv?"

Ebisu quickly composed himself, evident from him readjusting his glasses.

"If you believe you are as good as you are, then you wouldn't mind facing me in a ninja battle." Now all he needed was for the fox to take the bate.

"Nice try, I'm not falling for that. Konohamaru, remember, if you stay with this fool, you'll never be anything." Naruto walked off, leaving a grinning Ebisu behind.

"See Honorable Grandson, I told you he was all talk."

"The name's Konohamaru."

_End Flashback_

Suddenly, Konohamaru and his friends appeared behind the genin.

"Did you two talk to boss about reconsidering?"

"I'm not reconsidering punk, now get lost, I've got bigger things to worry about."

"Hmph, I guess we'll just have to make him see reason; Udon, Moegi, prepare to launch." Sasuke and Sakura had no idea what the Hokage's grandson was about to do, but by the rubber launcher that Udon and Moegi held at the ends, and the giant red balloon emblazoned with a cartoon Konohamaru face on the front, they could tell it was most likely messy. After pulling back as far as his little body could allow, the giant rubber band hurled the balloon directly into the back of the jinchuriki's head. The contents of said balloon were some type of greenish-orange liquid that none of them could identify, and it's aroma was so pungent that soon the two genin were holding their noses. Konohamaru and his friends had already donned gas masks. Silence hung in the air as Naruto just stood there. Konohamaru eagerly approached the smelly, blond ninja.

"Change your mind yet boss?" Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, and reappeared behind the little snot nosed punk.

"GET LOST!" Naruto gave a mighty kick to the little Sarutobi, sending him flying. However, the kid got back up. "You're just jealous cause I'm gonna make a better ninja than you!" Now it looked like Naruto's forehead vein was about to explode.

Sensing that this was the ideal time to make a break for it, the Konohamaru Ninja Squad ran as fast as their legs could carry them, with Naruto chasing after them, and his teammates chasing after him.

However, the chase was abruptly ended when Konohamaru ran straight into a guy in a black body suit; on his face was purple kabuki-like make-up; on his back was a large bundle with a brown tuft on the top. He wore a cat-like hood that had a forehead protector, with what looked like an hourglass, on it.

With him was a girl with blonde hair done up in four ponytails. She carried around very thick staff, and wore a similar forehead protector around her neck.

The black clad ninja picked up Konohamaru by his scarf. "Tell me, am I hurting you right now?"

"Kankuro, put him down. You know what he'll do to you."

"We've got time, might as well milk it for all that it's worth."

"Listen, we don't want trouble, just give us our friend back, and we can walk away without a fight," Sasuke suggested.

"If there's one thing I can't stand, it's brats who don't know their place," Kankuro said as he tightened his grip.

"Whatever, I'm not getting involved with this," the girl said in defeat.

Suddenly, everyone in the area felt a massive spike of killer intent. It was like nothing any of the leaf ninja had ever felt, with the exception of Naruto. It was like a sociopathic desire to kill that had been kept under lock and key.

"Kankuro, that's enough, don't make me kill you." The voice was bone-chilling, as if there was no living being housing it. Its source was a boy standing upside down on a tree. He had messy red hair, but that was just the beginning. He wore what seemed to be giant gourd, shaped like a calabash, on his back, tied to him by a leather band, which had another hourglass headband. On the left side of his forehead was 'ai'; the kanji for 'love.' His eyes were teal, with deep black rings around them, making him look like a red raccoon.

"He-hey, Gaara," Kankuro nervously said.

The boy named Gaara looked to each of the Konoha citizens. It was when his eyes met with Naruto's, did he focus his attention, and vice versa for the blond. For both of them, something kept telling them to slaughter the other. It was like an ancient rivalry that transcended time, yet, a kinship, of similar levels; a hatred that humans just couldn't comprehend. The rings around Gaara's eyes sickened Naruto, as did Naruto's whisker marks sicken Gaara.

_**KILL HIM NOW!**_

_**DIE**** FILTH!**_

But through the voices, both of them felt something:

_Those eyes, they're just like mine_.

"Put the boy down Kankuro, you're not only embarrassing yourself, but you're embarrassing us, and our village," Gaara said in his monotone.

"R-r-right." _You are so lucky you little shit_.

As soon as Konohamaru was on the ground and out of the Kabuki man's grasp he ran straight to Moegi and Udon. Soon, Gaara disappeared, leaving a pile of sand in his place, and was on the ground next to the other two.

"So, Gaara, when did you get here?" the blonde girl nervously asked.

"That's none of your concern Temari."

"So what the hell are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

The redhead never broke eye contact with the blond. "We're here for the Chunin Exams. We're from Sunagakure, the Hidden Sand Village. Who are you?"

"Naruto Uzumaki. You?"

"Gaara, Sabaku(of the desert). I understand, from your headbands, that this is your home village."

"Unfortunately," Naruto said.

"Huh? What's the deal, I'd expect you'd be gloating like a big-shot about how you have a home field advantage, considering the exams are being held here," Temari said.

"I'm not a loudmouthed idiot."

"Hopefully you won't face us in the exams, that's if you're lucky," Kankuro said, some of his confidence returning. However, Gaara was quick to bring him back down.

"Kankuro, what have I told you about bragging."

"Sorry Gaara."

_Wait a minute_. Sakura noticed a big height difference, especially between the girl and the redheaded boy. "How old are you three?" Sakura asked.

"I'm 15," Temari answered.

"14," said Kankuro.

"12," Gaara said with no hint of emotion.

"Then how can you three be a team?" the pinkette asked.

"We're siblings," Kankuro answered.

_Something's not right here_, Naruto thought.

_Even if they are siblings, they'd need some pretty big reason to be on a team with their age difference_, Sasuke contemplated.

* * *

The next day at the bridge, Team 7 had to only wait an hour-and-a-half for Kakashi.

"Hey guys, good news for all of you," he said from atop one of the small bridge's torii gate.

"What good news sensei?" Sasuke asked.

"It's not another A-rank mission is it," Sakura said nervously.

"No, nothing like that. I've decided that you'll all be allowed to enter in the Chunin Exams." Kakashi held out three slips of paper. "These are your application forms."

"What's the catch Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto skeptically asked.

"No catch Naruto. You're allowed to enter if you want to or not."

"Or not, you don't think we're capable?" Sasuke asked.

"It's not that I don't think you could pass, it's just that the statistical probability of genin who aren't even a year out of the Academy aren't as likely to win as genin who've head a few more years of experience. Not that you're guaranteed to lose, I'm just telling you so you know what to expect. And don't worry about having to wait too long to take them, the Exams are biannual, so after these exams, you'll only have to wait six months, and by then, you'll have more experience under your belts, and therefore have a better chance of passing. But like I said, the choice is yours if you want to enter now or not."

"Do we need to enter as a team to enter?" Sasuke asked.

"Not necessarily. I will be the first to admit that you'll probably never see a two or even one man team, but it's entirely up to you whether you want to enter or not. A larger group will equal a larger chance of success. So, are you up to it?"

_It must mean a lot for Kakashi-sensei to think we're ready for the exams, why else would he give us this offer_, Sasuke thought.

_These exams could show me some impressive new jutsu, I'll give it a shot_.

_If Sasuke's willing to enter, then I will too._

"If you believe in us Kakashi-sensei, then I'll take that chance," Sasuke said with a smile.

"You really think we could pass?" Sakura asked.

"It's worth a shot, and it's not like if we don't pass, we'll never be allowed to take it again," Sasuke grew a little paler for a moment. "We will be allowed to take it again if we don't pass right?"

"Of course Sasuke, you really think there would be as many chunin in the village if we excluded the ones that didn't pass their first exams?" Kakashi said with a smirk under his mask.

"Fine, I'll give it a try," Naruto said.

"Then if you're all in, just sign those papers and arrive at room 301 at the Academy. 3:00 pm, five days from now. Got it?"

"Sure sensei?" Sakura said after taking a mental note.

On the way back to the village, different thoughts were running through each of their heads.

_If I get promoted to chunin, then Ino-pig will have to admit that I'm way better for Sasuke_, Sakura was imagining standing triumphantly over her arch-rival, and Sasuke coming up and pronouncing his secret undying love for her.

_Hope I'm good enough to pass, there's going to be some really stiff competition_.

Naruto couldn't take his mind off of possibly facing that Suna genin with the calabash gourd on his back._ Why do I really want to beat that guy so much? Eh, just go with it_

That evening, they noticed a huge number of shinobi from all across world, from Amegakure, to Kusagakure, to Takigakure. It was going to be an interesting exam indeed.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hey, sorry there wasn't much progression, but I started getting a feeling that this would serve best as an exhibition chapter. With Gaara and Naruto's suspicions about each other, I guess you could say that in this story, jinchuriki have a sort of empathetic ability to sense abnormalities with other people that lets them know it they're a jinchuriki. Example: if Naruto walked past Fu (the seven tails jinchuriki) in a crowd, and one saw the other, they'd know there was something off about the other. As for Naruto's new rivalry Gaara, it's like Kurama and Shukaku influencing them.

Please review with nothing too mean, reviews help me right faster.


	9. The Chunin Exams Are Underway!

**Naruto and Sasuke: Switched**

_**Chapter 9: The Chunin Exams Are Underway!**_

* * *

The morning sun rose brightly over Konohagakure, as every citizen was abuzz. The biannual Chunin Exams were taking place. Genin made their way to the Konoha Ninja Academy in the hopes of moving up a rank in the world. Across the village, shop owners set up their stands to their finest, in the hopes of making extra ryo from the many foreign visitors.

Team 7 made their way to the very building where they once hoped they would be good enough to become genin, now they went there with the ambition of attaining the same rank as their former sensei.

On their way to the Academy building, they noticed the most peculiar thing. There were ninja with Kirigakure headbands on. Why was this strange? Well as far as they knew, the Mist Village was in the clutches of civil war, certainly they didn't have the luxury of being able to send genin to foreign countries to advance in rank.

Each of them felt a familiar presence behind them, a horrifying presence, a presence they didn't expect to see so soon.

In an alley stood Zabuza Momochi, wearing a long-sleeved black shirt with white rims, and pants to match; he still wore his striped arm and leg warmers, but he no longer had any bandages to cover his mouth. In addition to this he wore a gray flak jacket, that snapped at the sides, with two scroll pouches on the lower left side, and a pocket on the right part of the chest, the Kirigakure symbol on both of the streamlined shoulder pads. A group of hunter-nin with varying masks and pocketless flak jackets stood around him.  
There were about five of them; one with a mask that was split down the middle with dark green on the right side; behind the mask, black, spikey hair could be seen.  
Another had two purple lines that ran horizontally across the middle of his mask, with grayish blue hair that was tied into a pony tail.  
The third one, who was noticeably shorter than the others had gray curved lines that ran above their mask's eye slits; they had moss green hair that was tied into a braid.  
The fourth hunter-nin had silver hair that flowed loosely down to his shoulders, and a mask with a thin smile and three red dots that marked the left cheek.  
The last guy had a mask with three red lines that resembled claw marks that ran down his mask diagonally; he had black hair with two bangs that framed the sides of his face. Each of them had a tanto attached to their belts, and the Kiri symbol on their masks' foreheads.

In their shock, Zabuza recognized the group that changed his life. "Brats?" Yep, that was Zabuza.

"W-what are you doing here?" Sasuke nervously asked.

"If you must know, I'm a representative on behalf of Kirigakure."

"But aren't you a wanted criminal?"

"I used to, but recently, we've gotten a new Mizukage, and she's decided to make me one of her bodyguards."

"But you wanted to kill the Mizukage."

"I still plan on ruling Kiri, but like I said, if I do it the same way I did last time, Haku's memory would go down in shame. Plus, our new Mizukage gave me a full pardon in exchange for my services, add that to the decent pay, and I won't be complaining for a while."

"And the Hunter-nin?" Naruto said pointing to the quintet.

"Personal bodyguards, not that I need them, they're also here incase any of ours gets into trouble with anyone else's."

"So this new Mizukage, what's she like?" Naruto kept cool during the whole thing.

"She has the most beautiful smile in the world," said a voice from out of nowhere.

Zabuza sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can you stop hiding?" he asked in annoyance.

From behind the hunter-nin stood a boy who looked no older than the three Konoha genin. He had short, messy, light blue hair, and square-rimmed glasses. He wore a blue, striped shirt, and camo-style pants with kunai holsters attached to the legs. He wore a shuriken pouch on his belt, which also had a katana strapped on. His Kiri headband was tied around his neck. When he smiled, it revealed the same type of filed-to-a-point shark-teeth that Zabuza had.

"Zabuza-sensei, are these the Konoha genin you told me about?" the boy asked, seemingly nervous.

"These are the ones Chojuro."

"Zabuza-sensei?" Naruto said.

"This is Chojuro, an initiate into the Seven Mist Swordsmen..." He seemed to force the next part of sentence, "and my personal charge."

"I apologize if my training was of any inconvenience to you Zabuza-sensei," Chojuro quickly stated.

"I know, you've told me a thousand times before, I just didn't expect to get put in charge of a kid; I'm just more used to picking out my students myself," Zabuza exasperatedly stated.

_And I ended up killing your last student_, Naruto thought.

"Um, what were you saying about the new Mizukage?" Sakura asked.

"Oh yeah, well, for starters, she has two kekkai genkai," Zabuza said.

"But you told us that people with kekkai genkai were killed on the spot." Sasuke stated.

"Yeah, everyone was surprised. I guess it's supposed to be symbolic for the village entering a new era or some other sentimental crap, that's why she decided we'd be entering our own genin in the exams this year, but that doesn't mean we're going to go easy on you punks."

"Can I expect you'll put up a decent effort?" Naruto asked.

"We're Kiri, we never go down without a fight," Zabuza proudly stated.

"Zabuza-sama, please save your gloating until after our genin have completed the exams," the red-claw-masked hunter-nin said.

"Fine, I'll see you brats in the exams, if you live long enough." The former rogue-nin gave an unsettling chuckle as he made left with the platoon of hunter-nin and his swordsman disciple. Sasuke and Sakura grew paler than usual for a minute.

"C'mon, I want to see what the rest of the competition is like," Naruto said as he made his way to the Academy.

* * *

Iruka watched as Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura entered into the Academy. A part of him wanted to run down there and block their entry, but another part was starting to agree with Kakashi more and more.

_Flashback_

Iruka stood in front of the Hokage, along with Kakashi, Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi, Might Guy, and members of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Corps.

"Alright, I'm sure that by now you've all figured out why you've been the gathered here."

"To discuss preparations for the Chunin Exams," Kakashi stated.

"Yes, they're going to be hosted right here in the village this year, and it must be known which genin will be participating. I already know Guy-san wishes to enter his team."

Kurenai was the first to step forward. "As the commander of Team 8, I recommend Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka."

Hiruzen's son Asuma came next. "I recommend all the members of Team 10 for the Chunin Exams: Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara."

Next, and finally, Kakashi. "I recommend each member of Squad 7: Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki." Immediately there were murmurs going all around among the T&I Corps. It was no secret that every team announced were this year's graduating class, or as they had come to be known as, the Rookie 9. They also knew each member of the Rookie 9 was a former student of Iruka's. Among them, the village pariah.

"Wait a minute, every name that was just mentioned, they're all rookie genin. Lord Hokage, how can you allow this?!"

"Because I believe they're ready."

"Ready?! They haven't been genin for a even a single year, they're not ready!"

"Iruka, we understand your feelings about letting your former students into the exams, but you must let go."

"But Hokage-sama, these tests kill. If they're not dead by the end of all this, they may be so physically or mentally damaged, they can never be ninja again."

"I see your points Iruka, and I agree, but also see it from another standpoint. The exams will be held here in Konoha, so there will be very little risk, just as well, we will be stationing ANBU around the village before the exams begin to make sure our own youth do not get into any trouble with the visiting examinees. You must have faith in their skills, and trust them to stay alive. Iruka, they're not your students anymore. You must let go."

Iruka knew that the Hokage was, above all else, a very wise man. But a part of him simply refused to accept that.

"Iruka, I'm sure you've read the reports, but I must remind you, Naruto did make his first kill on the Wave mission," Kakashi chimed in.

"Kakashi, you must tell me, Kurenai, and Asuma about that sometime," Guy said.

"Guy," Hiruzen said. The last thing he needed was for the jonin to get sidetracked.

"Hai, forgive me Hokage-sama."

Iruka didn't need to be reminded. When Kakashi first handed him the report, he had read, reread, and re-reread it over and over again. It also mentioned how Naruto tapped into the Kyubi's chakra, and revealed the truth of his jailor status to Sasuke and Sakura. Only time would tell how his relationship with his teammates would progress.

_End Flashback_

"So, how's it going?" Kakashi asked as he appeared right next to him.

"Hopefully I won't regret going along with this."

"You can't protect them forever."

"I know!" Iruka snapped. Before he left he turned back to Kakashi. "Make sure my faith in you wasn't misplaced." He then shunshined away.

* * *

The Academy had so many Konoha and foreign shinobi it seemed like the building was about to lose a few floors. When Team 7 made it to the third floor, they saw a huge crowd of genin surrounding the door to room 301. In front of it were two older looking genin.

On the ground in front of them was a another genin. The fact that they didn't recognize him from any of their previous classes let them know he was from one of the previous graduating classes. He had shiny hair in a bowl cut style, and wore neon green spandex and leg warmers that were the same orange as Naruto's jumpsuit. His metal forehead protector was attached to a red cloth that was tied around his waist. He also had the thickest, bushiest eyebrows any of them had ever seen.

A girl with brown eyes and brown hair done up in two buns ran up to him. She wore a pink, sleeveless blouse with red trimmings, and green pants with a kunai holster. Following her was a boy with dark brown hair that ended in a loose ponytail in the middle of his back. His forehead protector had black cloth and was on his forehead in the classical style. He wore a short-sleeved, white, shirt and brown shorts. His eyes were pale white with no pupils, signifying his status as a member of Konoha's prestigious Hyuga clan, wielders of the feared and famed Byakugan.

"Hey, what's going on?" Sasuke asked.

"These bastards won't let us go in to take the exams," the brown-haired girl explained.

"We're doin' you brats a favor," one of the older genin said.

"But our senseis said it was our choice to take the exams, and we chose to," Sakura declared.

"I know who you are, you're part of this year's graduating class. Each and every one of you will be carted out of here in a body bag. These exams kill people, they're not for wide-eyed fools. Come back in a few years when you have more experience, then you may stand a chance in keeping your life.

In his peripheral vision, Naruto noticed the Hyuga boy stare at the sign that read '301.' He vaguely remembered something about Iruka-sensei's lecture about the Byakugan, but only very little. Something about having to do with genjutsu.

"Go on, beat it," the first genin told them.

Sasuke had a slight smirk on his face, though it quickly disappeared. "Fine, we'll take your word for it?" As they walked away from the crowd, he said to Sakura, "You saw the genjutsu right?"

She nodded, "They really should've disguised it better."

Back with the crowd of genin, the white-eyed boy led his teammates in a different direction, informing them that he saw through the genjutsu as well.

"Neji, why didn't you tell us it was a genjutsu?" Tenten asked.

"I wanted to see if anyone else was able to see through it. This is going to be interesting."

"Hey, where's Lee?" Tenten asked, noticing that her green-spandexed teammate was gone.

* * *

As Team 7 made their way to the steps leading up to the true third floor, their path was blocked by the bowl-cut, spandex-clad, bushy-eyebrowed, severely fashion challenged genin from before. He walked up to Sakura.

"My name is Rock Lee, please go on a date with me," he firmly stated.

The first thing that came to each of their mind was: _Bushiest eyebrows I've ever seen__._

It took about another minute for Lee's previous statement to sink in.

"Wha?"

"Please, when the exams are over, please go on a date with me."

"Um, no thanks," Sakura nervously stated.

"But, why not?"

"You're a little weird for my tastes."

"Weird?"

"Can you move? We need to get to the exams," Sasuke said.

_He is an Uchiha, he will be a good test._ Lee turned to Sasuke.

"You! I challenge you to a battle! From the crest on your back, I can tell you are this year's number one rookie, Sasuke Uchiha. I wish to test myself against you."

"Um, no thanks," Sasuke nervously said.

"Please, I am not sure whether or not I will see you in the exams. I want to test myself against geniuses to prove that you can be a truly splendid ninja without ninjutsu or genjutsu."

"You can't use nin or genjutsu?" Naruto asked.

"Indeed I cannot. I managed to graduate from the exams with my superior taijutsu."

"But what was with that talk about beating geniuses?"

"You see, I too have a genius on my team. Last year's top genin, Neji Hyuga. I have never been able to once defeat him in a match, that is why I will never stop in proving that simply using only taijutsu can make someone a truly splendid ninja. In all honesty, you will only be an evaluation of my own skills."

"Okay, I'll spar with you, but it can't be too long, we still have the real exams to get to."

"Yosh! I am most excited that I have gotten this chance."

Sasuke got into his personal taijutsu stance, just as Lee did himself. The Uchiha was the first to charge, Rock Lee standing his ground. In a quick burst of movement, Lee was behind him. Lee slammed his right leg into Sasuke's chest, but he didn't stop there. Spinning rapidly and coming to an abrupt stop, Lee sent Sasuke flying into the wall. Each of them, even Naruto were surprised by the pure speed and power of the so-called non-ninjutsu ninja.

Sasuke shakily got back up. "Sasuke, just stop, you need your strength for the exam." Sakura was helping Sasuke get back up.

_This guy's got crazy taijutsu_, Naruto thought. Lee was definitely someone to watch out for.

"ALRIGHT! THAT'S ENOUGH!" A gruff voice yelled. Naruto and Lee turned around to see the most unexpected of sights. It was a giant red tortoise with the underside of its shell colored yellow. His top shell had yellow swirl markings on each segment, and an orange band on its left foreleg. Around his neck was a blue-clothed Konoha hitai-ate.

"Uh, did that turtle just talk?" Sasuke asked, his previous injury forgotten after the arrival of the giant red reptile.

"YEAH I TALKED, BIG DEAL!" It shifted its gaze to Lee. "LEE! FRONT AND CENTER!" Lee did as he was ordered. "What exactly did you think you were doing?" he asked much more calmly.

"Well, you see, I wanted to test myself against him, and I, just got carried away, a little," Rock Lee responded nervously.

"QUIET!" The turtle said as he cut him off. "Do you think pathetic, half-baked, excuses like that will help you. You know what could've happened had I not intervened? You could have done something really stupid and exposed valuable secrets that your enemy could've used against you. YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS ALREADY!"

"Yes, you are absolutely right Ningame-sama. I acted out of line and will happily take the consequences."

"Alright, presenting... GUY-SENSEI!" A puff of smoke appeared on top of the turtle's shell. When it cleared, they saw what looked like a taller version of Lee, only his features were more prominent, his cheekbones being a clear example. If anything, his eyebrows were even thicker than Lee's. Also, he wore an unzipped standard flak jacket for any shinobi who were chunin rank or above. He was making the most strangest of poses with his right hand in the air, and his left hand forming a circle shape over his left eye.

"How's it goin' everybody, life treatin' ya' good?! I am Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey, MIGHT GUY!" he excitedly asked and stated.

"No wonder this freak's so crazy looking. His sensei must be even more insane himself," Naruto stated.

A large tick mark appeared on the back of Lee's head. "YOU WILL NOT SPEAK BADLY OF GUY-SENSEI!"

"How can I not, whatever it is it sure isn't human." _Weird hearing that come from me_, Naruto thought to himself.

Before Lee could retaliate, Guy intervened. "Let it go Lee."

"Hai."

"Now, for your punishment." Might Guy balled his right hand into a fist. "YOU FOOL!," he said as he launched his punch straight into Lee's stomach. Though Kakashi's genin were taken back by the sudden action, Lee knew that he was lucky; had he actually gone so far as to attempt the Primary Lotus, his punishment would've involved Guy's fist straight to the center of his cheek.

Looking up from the pain, Lee saw Might Guy starting to cry, and he started to cry himself.

"Oh sensei, please, forgive me."

"Lee, it's all over now, please, don't say anymore" Guy sensei said as if talking to an emotional toddler. Instantly, they were both on a rocky shore, the evening sun glistening over the ocean in front of them.

"Guy-sensei."

"Lee."

"Guy-sensei."

"Lee."

"GUY-SENSEI!"

"LEE!" Both of them embraced in a powerful hug as the water crashed onto the shore around them. Even Ningame was crying. _Their bond, it really pulls at the heart strings_, the summon thought. Meanwhile, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were trying to fight the urge to throw up their stomach contents, and that included organs.

"They're nuts," Naruto stated. Both of his teammates nodded at the obvious conclusion.

"Lee, to make up for this, I want you to do 100 LAPS AROUND THE FIELD!"

"YOSH! Yes sir!" Lee said with a salute. Both of them gave grin's that, along with their shiny bowl-cuts, would've certainly blinded anyone without ninja training. When they made their way to the door, Sakura spoke up.

"Wait, what about the Chunin Exams, their about to start."

"Oh right. Lee with certain circumstances, I WANT YOU TO GIVE ME 500 LAPS AROUND THE FIELD WHEN THE EXAMS ARE OVER!"

"YES, EXCELLENT SIR!"

"Also, I want you to escort these fine young people to the exams yourself."

"As you say sir."

Guy then looked over to the three. "YOU! You must be Kakashi's students."

"Uh, how'd you know?" Sakura asked. It was pretty weird how this guy was able to tell who their sensei was just by looking at them, especially considering the fact that the two teams have never even met before.

"Me and Kakashi, are eternal rivals."

_Huh, for some reason it's not really surprising that Kakashi-sensei would have this loon for a rival, but then again, it may only be a one-sided thing_, Naruto thought.

Without any warning, Guy suddenly appeared behind Team 7. "Yes, my record of wins and losses against Kakashi is 50 to 49, one more than him."

_This clown is fast!_

_I didn't see him move!_

_This guy's one more matches against Kakashi-sensei?_

_Guy-sensei, your youthful skills are truly inspiring._

"As you just saw, I'm faster and stronger than Kakashi."

_His speed is crazy, I just might have to take his word for it_, Naruto thought.

"Remember Lee, do your best!" He and the turtle disappeared.

"Hey, Sasuke? Sorry I got carried away."

"Don't mention it, but if we meet in the exams, I'm not going easy on you."

"I would expect no less. I assume you already know your way to the examination room?" Each of the three rookies gave a nod.

"Then I must return to my own team. Good luck." In a single jump, Lee made his way onto the second walkway above them.

* * *

"Well, well, you all came after all," Kakashi said as he greeted them.

"What do you mean sensei?" Sakura asked.

"If even one of you didn't show up, the others would've been bared from the exams. I wasn't lying when I said the choice to take the test was yours, I was just withholding the truth so none of you would feel obliged to enter, but it doesn't matter now, your all here, good luck."

"We don't need luck sensei!" Sasuke exclaimed.

_Sasuke, your so confident, it's so cool_, Sakura thought.

_The ninja we'll be fighting won't be as strong as Zabuza, but they'll definitely have skills_, Naruto thought.

When they made their way in, they found the room filled with dozens of older ninja. It was hard to believe some of them were genin because they looked like they were Kakashi's age.

"Hey! There you guys are!" Kiba and the rest of Team 8 came towards them. To the side, they saw Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji. Ino still got nervous when she came around Naruto. Sakura couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for her one time friend.

"Hn, so your senseis' let you come too huh? Man, with all the people here, it's going to be more troublesome then I expected."

"There's those guys from before. I wonder if they'll be good competition?" Tenten said to her teammates from within the crowd.

"Hope you guys are ready to lose to us, we've been training like crazy," Kiba stated proudly.

"Kiba, just shut up okay, your bragging will only bite your ass if you lose," Naruto said.

"Please, d-don't mind Kiba, h-he's j-just a little excited," Hinata said.

Neji glared at Hinata from the crowd, last night still running through his mind, and Hinata's as well.

_Flashback_

Hiashi sat on a mat in front of Neji and Hinata, Hanabi by his side.

"I understand that both of your senseis believe you to be ready to take the Chunin Exams. Is this true?"

"Hai Hiashi-sama," Neji said without hesitation.

"H-hai," Hinata said with much less confidence, which didn't go unnoticed by Hiashi.

"Hmm, your senseis believe you are ready, but I want to see for myself. Both of you will spar against each other." Neji flawlessly got into the gentle fist stance, while Hinata was more than a little shaky.

"Begin."

The cousins began circling each other, daring each other to make a move. But Hinata didn't want to hurt Neji. He was her cousin, her nii-san, her uncle's legacy; the uncle whose life had been sacrificed because of her. She knew she couldn't hurt Neji, not physically, he was just too good, he was the pride of the Hyuga, and he was already hurt enough from being in the branch family. If she could trade places with him, she would take it in a heartbeat.

Neji had these exact same thoughts, without the not wanting to hurt part, so he was not as hesitant. He lunged his right hand towards Hinata's left shoulder. She sidestepped to her right and aimed a strike for his arm, the least she could do was disable him. However, he adjusted his movements and nailed Hinata in her shoulder with his elbow. The girl staggered back, trying her best to get back into position. The cousins both activated their Byakugan, their veins bulging as their near perfect circle sight took effect. Light amounts of chakra flared on their fingertips.

_Please Neji, I don't want to hurt you_. When Hinata looked into her cousin's eyes, she saw cold hate in them. Neji couldn't get back at Hiashi, his true target, so his cousin was the next best thing.

Even though Hinata knew she couldn't stand against Neji, something in her just kept saying 'KEEP GOING.' Slowly, the amount of chakra on her fingers increased in intensity. Neji was a little surprised by this slight increase in aggression, especially from Hinata, but he just paid it little mind.

"Eight Trigrams Two Palms!" Hinata called out. She aimed two strikes at Neji's tenketsu. The first strike missed, though she managed to hit one of the points in his side. Hiashi actually seemed interested; throughout all her training, Hinata never seemed to show any aptitude in the Gentle Fist. It would be interesting to see where this spar went.

"Four Palms!" Hinata missed two of the strikes, landed one, while the fourth strike grazed tenketsu point on Neji's left side.

"Eight Trigrams Two Palms!" Neji began his own set of strikes. Unlike Hinata, both of his attacks landed.

"Eight Palms!/Four Palms!" Hinata and Neji said respectively. Many of their attacks intercepted the other's. In a burst of speed, Hiashi appeared before his daughter and nephew. Both of their wrists were held in his grip, chakra still glowing on their hands.

"Enough. Neji, your skills are still impressive, though your training will be intensified. Hinata, your though your attempt to execute the Sixty Four Palm Strike, while impressive, is flawed. I will not stop either of you from entering into the Chunin Exams, though I will expect you to not bring shame upon our clan by losing in any matches. Understand?"

"Hai," Neji said.

"Hai." Hinata was a little more hesitant.

_End Flashback_

Hinata was still unsure of what brought on her slight aggression spike.

"Hey, you there!" They all saw a boy with silver hair and circular glasses. He wore a purple shirt and pants, and matching fingerless gloves that went up to his elbows. He wore a leaf hitai-ate. "I wouldn't go around making a show of yourselves if I were you."

"Well who're you?" Sakura asked.

"My name's Kabuto Yakushi. You really are a sight you know: genin, not even a year's worth of experience, and taking the Chunin Exams. That just makes you even bigger targets."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Kiba angrily stated. If anyone was going to make him into a target, they would soon learn to think twice.

"Look around," Kabuto commanded. All of the genin there looked not only nervous for the exams, but they seemed angry at the Rookie 9 for some reason, even the Konoha shinobi. "Some of these guys have had to wait years just to make it here; most of them are here because they failed the tests before. And seeing nine rookies here, it really hits deep. Add that onto the inevitable tension that these exams bring, and you've basically got a powder keg with a lit match next to it."

"So which one are you, a newcomer or a veteran?" Shikamaru asked.

"A veteran, this is actually my... seventh time." Kabuto rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Seven times, either these exams really are impossible, or your just hopeless," Kiba said.

"See if you think the same thing about these." Kabuto pulled out a large stack of orange cards.

"I haven't been wasting all my time. These info cards have over three years worth of knowledge, of course not all of it is complete, but it gives a basic overview about anything we may face." He placed a card face up, but it was completely blank.

"They're blank," Choji stated as he kept munching on his chips.

"They're encoded with chakra, I can't let just anyone see them." Placing his finger over the card, it started spinning as he poured his chakra into it. A map of the of the Elemental Nations appeared in a puff of smoke.

"So what are we looking at here?" Choji asked.

"This is a map showing the distribution of participants from all the nations who sent them." The map showed seven green bars leading up from Konohagakure, Sunagakure, Kirigakure, Takigakure, Amegakure, Kusagakure, and a village they didn't recognize, Otogakure, the Hidden Sound Village. "As you can see, about 72 genin are from Konoha, 30 from Suna, 10 from Kiri, 21 from Ame, 15 from Kusa, 12 from Taki, and only 3 from the Oto, the most recent village, that gives us about 163 total competitors."

"Wait, if Kiri is one of the Five Great Nations, how come it only has ten genin coming?" Kiba asked.

Kabuto pushed up his glasses before responding. "They just pulled out of a civil war, it's a wonder they're here at all; word is, Zabuza Momochi, a former missing-nin, returned and convinced the new Mizukage on letting ten of their genin come; she was already trying to mend Kiri's relations with the rest of the world, Zabuza must've just given her the extra motivation."

"Ten? But that would mean three three man teams with one left over," Shikamaru said.

"I can answer that." They saw Chojuro by himself. "Historically, whenever an initiate of the Seven Swordsmen enters the exams, they always go by themselves, it's sort of like an extra survival test. Lady Mizukage has been trying to change the policy. But due to our last minute entry, I'm going to be put in with one of the other teams."

Sakura turned back to the purple-clad boy. "Kabuto, you're really smart, how come you haven't passed before?" she asked. From what she just saw and heard, it was hard to believe that Kabuto wasn't already a chunin.

"I'm not much of a combatant, more of a medic."

"So those info cards, they have information on everyone, right?" Naruto asked.

"Well, it's not all complete, but yeah, anything you want to know about in particular?"

Naruto spared no time in answering. "A Suna genin, Gaara Sabaku; red hair, gourd on his back, raccoon rings around the eyes."

"Hmph, where's the fun when you know most of the details." Kabuto pulled out a seemingly random card and channeled his chakra through it much like the first one. The card had a profile picture of Gaara, smaller pictures of his teammate/siblings, with no picture of their sensei. Below the profile picture was a pentagon with the words 'Nin,' 'Gen,' 'Tai,' 'Tool,' and 'Blood Type,' at each corner, signifying it as a status wheel, but there was nothing on it. The most surprising thing on the card was the experience graph; eight completed C-ranks, one B-rank, with no D-rank missions listed.

"Huh, nothing on skillset, and he completed a B-rank without getting a single scratch on him." This surprised the Konoha rookies.

"He must be some sort of freak to be able to survive a B-rank uninjured," Kiba exclaimed.

_He's definitely the main competition around here_, Naruto thought.

A giant smoke explosion caught the attention of everyone in the room. "PAY GOOD ATTENTION YOU LITTLE DEGENERATES!" In front of all the genin were a group of people wearing grey suits. A tall and ominously imposing man in a black trenchcoat stood at the head of the group of adults; he wore a Konoha forehead protector like a bandana, and his face had some scars running along it. "I am your proctor for this part of the Chunin Exam, Ibiki Morino. The rules for this part of the exam are very simple: first rule, no one is allowed to fight without any permission from us; second, the use of fatal force will not be tolerated; third, even think about disregarding me, and your sorry ass will be carted out of here before you even make a move. Let us proceed to the first phase. Hand over your paperwork, and in exchange, you'll be given a number; this will designate where you will sit for the written test."

_Crap. This is just great_, Naruto thought sarcastically.

One by one, each of the chunin hopefuls exchanged the permission slips their senseis had given them, and received the test papers. Naruto found himself seated next to the Nara heir, who looked like he would rather be anywhere else. On the sides of the room, the other proctors sat in chairs, each of them holding a clipboard.

"The rules of the written exam, and I won't repeat myself or answer any questions, so make sure you get it the first time. Unlike any tests you've taken in the past, you'll be starting these test with perfect scores of ten, and you'll lose one point for every time you answer wrong. Get two questions wrong and you're score is eight, and so on."

"Secondly, your scores are added up to become team scores, so if you lose all your points before or by the end of the test, you'll fail your whole team with you."

_WHAT! HE CAN'T DO THAT! WITH NARUTO WE'RE BOUND TO FAIL, WHAT THE HELL!_ Inner Sakura shouted.

"Rule three, if you're caught cheating, the sentinels you see before you will deduct two points from your tests. Get caught five times and you fail your whole team. Some of these people, myself included, are part of the Torture and Interrogation Corps of Konoha, so they're specially trained to detect even the most minute differences in body language. Whatever you do, they'll see it. Show us that you deserve to be here." It was clear that this man was trying to instill fear in the young genins' hearts; needless to say, it was working. "Oh, and to make sure I won't have to hear it later on, there are only nine given questions on your test papers. When the testing period is over, I'll administer the tenth question, you have an hour until then. BEGIN!"

_CRAP! __CRAP! __CRAP! __CRAP! _DAMN IT NARUTO, YOU BETTER NOT FAIL!

_____Something doesn't feel right about_ _this,_ Neji thought to himself.

_Please do alright Naruto-kun,_ Hinata thought.

_If I can just get few right, the rest won't matter_, Naruto told himself.

When they looked over the questions, they were stunned by the amazing complexity in every one of them. One question was about shuriken throw angles, distance, and trajectories, another required code deciphering, another question even asked which jutsu an enemy would be most likely to use, even though it gave no hints as to where said shinobi was, or what type of enemy they were facing.

_These questions, they go beyond the scope of what a genin should be capable of knowing. These are at least the kind of questions a jonin would answer. What are they playing at?_ Neji noticed that the sentinels did little to hide the smirks that danced on their faces.  
_Byakugan!_ Neji subtly activated his clans kekkai genkai and began copying down the answers.

Every now and then, one of the watchers would jot something down on their notebooks, greatly adding to the tension. They could be writing about you, or anyone else, you just don't know, so that killed even more of the examinees confidence. Any minute they could call you out, and before you know it, your whole team is down.

_With the way they make a fuss over us cheating, it's like they want us to..._ Naruto kept remembering what Ibiki said.

_Flashback Montage_

"If you're caught cheating, the sentinels you see before you will deduct two points from your tests..."

* * *

"Show us that you deserve to be here."

_End Flashback Montage_

_This is an exam to test our ability at intelligence gathering and reconnaissance, plus, he never said there was to be no cheating, only that we'd be penalized for getting caught, like in a real mission. Hopefully the others realize this._

Fortunately, Sasuke was able to come to a similar conclusion, his Sharingan active, hidden by his bangs, reading the smallest pen strokes in the examinee in front of him. Sakura was fortunate enough to know enough of the answers, so she didn't need to figure out the test's true meaning.

_Now how do I figure out a way of cheating where I won't get caught. I don't know any special jutsu, except the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but there's no way to use it here._

"Number 28, you're done!" one of the sentinels said.

"66, done!"

"13, get out of here, and take your team with you!"

Number after number was called, and team after team went out the door, though some needed to be escorted out because they simply refused to go.

_Dammit, the one time I want to be behind Sakura, now I can't use the Mind Transfer Jutsu. Hopefully one of these other guys will know the answers._ Ino inconspicuously performed the hand seal for her clan's signature technique. Her body slumped forward as she entered the soul of the Ame genin she went through.

_I hope Ino transferred with someone with the right answers_, Shikamaru thought.

Sakura was blazing through the answers as if they were basic math, though she immediately felt her eyes get irritating. As her eyes were closed, particles of sand flowed over her paper, materializing into an eye. Gaara, with one eye closed, began filling out the answer spaces on his paper.

Naruto's answer boxes still remained blank. _Hm, would I fail if I don't answer any of these, he did say we would start out with perfect scores; no, he also said they would add up our answers when this is over, after he gives us the tenth question, that's probably my only hope, but then again, what says I'll figure that one out._

Naruto soon got an idea when one of the genin from Taki asked to go to the bathroom. Quickly raising his hand, "I need to go too!" Two of the sentinels handcuffed the genin and tied rope around the cuffs. The chunin proctor holding Naruto's rope had brown hair that went down to his shoulders, with two long bangs that framed his face. The bangs, along with his forehead protector, worked well to obscure his eyes from view. The proctor leading the Taki nin wore a bandana headband and sunglasses. The other genin wore a grey shirt under a black jacket, and had brown, curly hair.

When they were in the bathroom, the sentinels stood behind a wall to give the genin privacy. Naruto instantly formed the clone hand seal, and the small room was filled to the brim with his clones. The chakra constructs rushed the surprised sentinels, who'd already dropped their ropes. Though they were able to dispel some of the clones, the smoke that came from it was just the distraction Naruto needed. With the cramped space of the bathroom, Naruto's clones soon overwhelmed the proctors, who were both unconscious. The clones found the keys to the cuffs, and unlocked their creator; they tied up the brown-haired chunin, gagged him with toilet paper, and threw him in one of the stalls. As for the Taki genin, a clone got behind him and did a quick chop to the back of his neck, knocking him out; to gag him, they turned his hitai-ate around and tightened the knot into his mouth. Naruto had some more clones tie up the sunglassed chunin with the other rope, gagged him with his bandana, and dumped him in another stall.

Naruto dispelled all except six clones. "You two, transform yourselves into the sentinels, you transform into the other genin. I want you three to dispel yourselves when these three come to; if you can, knock them back out." Each of the clones complied. The cuffs were put back on and Naruto went back to the exam room. Him and his transformed clones took their seats. When the sentinel clones looked through the clipboards, they found a sheet with notes taken down of the other genins' skill in intelligence gathering, and a sheet that had the answers on it. A few of the answer boxes on the Taki nin's paper were filled out as well.

However, Naruto soon remembered a crucial detail: how would he get the knowledge without being caught, because he only had a small grasp of morse code from the Academy. The clones tried to the best of their ability to relay what little they could through the scratches they made on the paper with their pencils, making it look like they were simply catching someone cheating. Naruto started filling out what he was getting, when he soon got the memories of two of the three clones he left in the bathroom. The sentinels were awake, and mad. Two of the clones dispelled, while the other transformed himself into an extra toilet paper roll while no one was looking. It wouldn't be soon before the chunin were back in the room. As soon as their footsteps were heard near the door, the clones dispelled themselves. Naruto got back their memories of the answers and jotted them down on his own sheet. He got the memories of the last clone in the bathroom, and he saw that the other genin was coming.

The sentinels were panting when they came into full view, torn rope in their clenched fists. They looked at the orange genin with pure malice. The Taki genin soon came into the view. Instantly, the last remaining clone substituted himself with the genin and dispelled itself, giving Naruto its memories. Everyone was confused by this surprising turn of events, though Ibiki only looked slightly irritated.

"And where have you two been? Out having a good time while you let some clones do your job!"

"That little..." Ibiki silenced him before he could finish his sentence.

"I don't care what you were doing, just get back to your positions!" The leader of the T&I Corps turned back to the genin in the room. "Well, are you waiting for something, you still have twenty minutes in the test!" The sentinels returned to their seats, deciding that it would be best not to tell anyone that the Orange Brat of Konoha had gotten the better of them.

Naruto couldn't help but smirk, no doubt he'd just made three new enemies, but this was still a big win for him; most of the answers were filled out, and he could worry less. If the big man in front of the room were to question him, he wouldn't technically be lying if he said he wasn't the one who tied them up, as his clones were the ones that did that.

Meanwhile, Ibiki couldn't help but smile a little; the little gaki was able to use the Shadow Clone Jutsu's special espionage abilities to a very impressive extent.

After about ten minutes, Ibiki decided that now it was time for the main event. "Alright, it's time for the tenth question..." He was interrupted as Kankuro entered the room. "Good, now I won't have to repeat myself. This question has a little catch to it. If you don't think you can handle it, you can opt to back out. But, if you do quit, despite what you answered for the other nine questions, your score will be instantly dropped down to a zero, and you and your team will fail. If you choose to accept, but get the wrong answer, you will be forbidden from ever taking the Chunin Exams ever again!" That was the sentence to set off the powder keg of a room. Cries of outrage came from the chunin hopefuls.

"WHAT THE HELL! There are people who've failed this test lots of other times!" Kiba exclaimed.

Ibiki gave an unsettling chuckle that would've done Kurama proud. "I wasn't the proctor those other times, but I'm making the rules now, and those were the ones I made. That's why I'm giving you the chance to back out. If you don't think you can handle it, then you can back out now and come back in six months, where I won't be proctoring." Most of the genin contemplated skipping the question, and coming back next time with a better chance. Naruto was not one of them.

_What the hell? Why would he give us those other questions if he's just going to sic this one on us, and how could the other nations agree to this, the risk of losing an entire generation of potential chunin and jonin._

"If you're not ready, I'm going to give you this one chance to back out for a better shot in the future." After what seemed like forever, but was really only a few minutes, one of the Konoha genin raised his hand.

"22 fail."

"19, fail." More and more hands shot into the air.

_The tension is palpable, should I raise my hand and fail my teammates, or get the question wrong, and be stuck as a genin forever. Look at Naruto, he barely seems shaken_, Sasuke thought.

_The little blond, the teams from Kiri, and the redhead from Suna, it's almost as if they don't care about the thought being in a single rank forever._ More and more people left the room, but all of the Kirigakure ninja stayed; it seems they really didn't go down without a fight. _Fifty-five participants left to answer the question._ "For those left in the room, I only have to say... that all of you have passed the first part of the exam." If anything, this threw off the genin more than the tension throughout the test itself.

"But what about the tenth question?" Lee asked.

"There was none; it was your willingness to take the question that allowed you to pass," Ibiki said with a grin, which was a little more scary than the stern demeanor he held through most of the test. His explanation also didn't seem to help explain anything. "You see, the first nine questions were to see how well you gathered information without anyone noticing, as well as how you functioned as a team; everything you did, or rather, didn't do, would affect your team in some way, it was a test of your nerves. Furthermore, these questions were designed to encourage you to cheat, but you needed cheat from someone who actually knew them, that's why I had three chunin who knew the answers hide amongst you, to see how well you could cheat." Several of the hidden chunin waved to the genin.

_I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING, HELL YEAH! _Inner Sakura screamed.

"In battle, and in war, information can be more valuable than gold, or any jutsu. If you get caught cheating, that information becomes worthless. Information can even be worth more than your life sometimes." Ibiki took of his bandana, but the genin really wished that he'd kept it on. The interrogations master's head was covered with scars, burns, and puncture wounds. He looked like he came out of a torture chamber himself. "These marks stand as a testament to the pain I've endured to keep my secrets secret. Remember, if you have faulty info, it can lead to the downfall of entire village, and the lives of everyone who lives there. Those not good enough at gathering information were disqualified, they aren't worthy to be considered ninja." Naruto checked the answers on Shikamaru's paper, which, fortunately for him, were the same as his.

"But what was the tenth question about?" Choji asked.

"Why it was only the most important part of the test." This explanation didn't seem sufficient enough. "Fine, I'll explain it anyway. I said that you were being tested as a squad, and the tenth question gave you two options, where neither outcome was favorable: failing and bringing your team down, or answering wrong, and lose the chance of becoming chunin. An impossible decision, if you will. These are the sort of decisions chunin and jonin have to face. You can't choose not to take a mission because of the risk, otherwise you couldn't allow yourself to be called a ninja. Even if it means knowing you won't come back, if your walking straight into a trap, and even with the knowledge that you could be sending your comrades on their way to the Shinigami. The shinobi from Kirigakure, stand." Chojuro and the others did as they were told. "Once I met a member of your village in battle. He knew I was Konoha's interrogation master, and he willingly slaughtered the other members of his team, just to keep information of their village from getting into enemy hands. That's the length some people are willing to go, it's how precious information is."

_Kisame-sempai_, Chojuro thought.

"You were all willing to put everything on the line despite the risks, which is why I'm glad to say that this concludes the first part of the Chunin Exams. Good luck with the rest."

Although this eased the tension of the genin immensely, they had little time to relax, as in the next moment, a giant maroon bundle crashed through the window. two of its corners were pierced to the ceiling with kunai, revealing bright white words that read 'HERE COMES THE SECOND PROCTOR: ANKO MITARASHI!' In front of it stood a women with purple hair that was put up into a spikey ponytail. She wore a tan overcoat with the inner lining being purple. Around her neck was a snake-tooth shaped pendent attached to a brown cord. From her neck to her thigh she wore a mesh body suit that left little to the imagination, a dark orange mini-skirt, a blue belt/sash combo, and white shin guards.

"Pay attention you little snots, because I'm going to be your proctor for the next exam: Anko Mitarashi, Konoha's Snake Mistress!"

_Snake Mistress, more like Snake Nutcase_, Sakura thought.

"LET'S GET READY FOR THE NEXT TEST!" After she screamed, Ibiki appeared from behind the curtain.

"You came in too early, again." This severely killed the 'Snake Mistress's' mood.

"Hmph, a few more genin than I expected."

"Fifty-five to be precise."

"Hm, I can work with that. I can guarantee a good lot of you won't make it." The lady's tone seemed to hold enough sadistic joy to do enough as turn Kakashi into a sniveling mess, and completely shatter Might Guy's confidence.

"So I got a little carried away, big deal. Here's how it works. Meet your jonin senseis then report to the designated area, they'll know where it is. DISMISSED!"

When Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura left the Academy, they found Kakashi with the senseis for Teams 8 and 10.

"So, I can assume you three passed?"

"It seemed fitting that the written exam was being proctored by the head of the Leaf Torture and Interrogation Corps," Naruto said.

"Yeah, Ibiki has a real mean sadist streak."

"Seriously, that guy should be an instructor at the Academy," Sasuke joked.

"Kakashi-sensei, do you know where the next part of the exam is being held."

"Yes. Here, take this map, it'll tell you where to go for tomorrow." The map contained an image of a tower surrounded by a large gate with a river running through it.

"Sakura, you hold onto it, you're good at remembering things like this," Sasuke said with a smile, causing his teammate to blush immensely.

* * *

The next morning, the Rookie 9, and all the others who passed appeared where they were showed to go.

"Welcome, to the Forty-Fourth Training Ground, or as we call it, the Forest of Death." Anko had a sadistic grin. Sakura saw Chojuro looked incredibly uneasy.

"I don't need to tell you, but you're about to find out why it's called the Forest of Death for a reason."

* * *

**Omake: The Summoning Chronicles**

At Mount Myoboku, outside of a giant mountain stood Gamabunta, Katsuyu, and Manda the personal summons of the three sannin themselves. They stood in a triangle formation, looking from one to the other. An unaware outsider would be certain that a battle of gargantuans was about to commence; a battle that would without a doubt, be memorized throughout the rest of history. Sadly, that fool would be mistaken.

"**Katsuyu, Manda, good to see you.**"

In truth, the three were very civilized when no humans were around, and even hung out when they didn't have to act like they hated each others' gut's.

"**So how're things going for you guys?**" Katsuyu asked.

"**Eh...**" Manda hummed.

"**What's up Mand?**" Katsuyu asked the purple snake.

"**It's personal, don't worry**."

"**Hmm. Maybe a drink at Gamaken's will help, let's go!**" Bunta said.

Over at Gamaken's, it was a lively night. The Great Toad Sage and the White Snake Sage of Ryuchi Cave were up singing karaoke, with other toads, snakes, and slugs watching, among them were Fukasaku and Shima. Gamaken stood behind the giant counter polishing a giant mug with a rag.

After about three drinks, Manda finally seemed ready to open up.

"**So what's on your mind Manda cause lately you've been really, weird?**"

"**Eh, it's Orochimaru, snakes already got a bad rep, and he just isn't helping things.**"

"**Hmm, I think I understand, I find myself getting a shorter and shorter temper whenever Jiraiya uses one of the other toads to perform those silly introduction dances, at least Orochimaru is giving snakes a fierce reputation.**"

"**Why do they think we hate each other anyway?**" Katsuyu asked.

"**Their humans, they gotta drag us into their little tiffs.**"

"**Why don't we just show them the truth?**"

"**That's not a bad idea Katsy?**" Gamabunta said.

*_Beep_*

*_Beep_*

*_Beep_*

Katsuyu brought out an alarm clock she kept inside of her. Gamabunta looked at the one on his tongue. Manda pulled out a pocket watch that was hidden under his scales. "**We might get the chance sooner than we thought, all three of us are being summoned at once.**"

* * *

Tsunade stood near an injured Naruto, Jiraiya and Shizune by her side, and Orochimaru in front of her, along with his lackey Kabuto.

"SUMMONING JUTSU!" Each of the sannin appeared on their master mounts.

"It's time we end this!"

"Manda, KILL THEM!"

"Katsuyu, ACID SLIME!"

"Bunta, TOAD FLAME BOMB!"

However, none of the summons made a move to attack any of the others. Instead they lowered their heads to the ground, and dropped off their summoners'; actually, Gamabunta and Manda flicked off their riders.

"Katsuyu, what's the meaning of this?"

"**We're not going to fight each other, are we?**" Manda and Gamabunta both shook their heads.

"What are you doing Manda?! You're supposed to hate these fools!"

"**Who ever said I hated them. To be honest I hate the villain stereotype of snakes that you've been reinforcing.**"

"**Jiraiya, you and your stupid dance routines are making the toads the laughing stock among the other summons.**"

"**And Tsunade, you've really got to see someone about your gambling addiction, and your drinking problem, and your denial about your age, and your anger management issues.**" With that, the three summons poofed back to Mount Myoboku, leaving three very confused sannin.

"What just happened?" Jiraiya asked.

_End_

YOSH! My very first omake. This is just the beginning of the **Summoning Chronicles**.

Don't expect consistency, some will revolve around canon universe, others will be based on this story's universe. There will also be omakes that revolve around the human characters.

In terms of the number of Chunin Exam participants, the manga said:  
87 from Konoha  
30 from Suna  
21 from Ame  
6 from Taki and Kusa  
and 3 from Oto

While in the anime, the participant distribution was:  
72 from Konoha  
30 from Suna  
21 from Ame  
15 from Kusa  
12 from Taki  
and 3 from Oto

Either way, it still amounts to 153 total, so I'm just going with the distribution in the Anime.

Easily my longest chapter ever written at 9855 words. I know that it takes a long time to read each of them, but I lose track of the rate I'm going at.

P.S. I'm going to be making a poll on whether or not Sasuke will be receiving the Cursed Seal of Heaven. Don't worry, Naruto won't be getting it. He's got enough issues with Kurama living in his mind. The poll will be on my profile, but since it's my first real poll, I may do some things wrong.


	10. Fatal Encounters in the Forest of Death!

**Naruto and Sasuke: Switched**

_**Chapter 10: Fatal Encounters in the Forest of Death**_

Okay, since I only got two votes for Sasuke getting the curse mark, and two votes against it, I'm going to make this chapter shorter than the others and leave it at a cliffhanger. So if you want him to get it or not, vote on the poll. Most of it are some little omake that have been worming their way into my head.

* * *

Each of the fifty-five genin stood at attention to the self-proclaimed, 'Snake Mistress of Konoha,' better known as Anko Mitarashi.

"Before we begin, I'm going to need all of you to sign these." Anko pulled out a stack of forms from inside her coat.

"What're they?" Ino asked.

"Oh nothing. Just standard consent forms incase you die in there, no big deal," the purple haired kunoichi said as if she was casually talking about the weather.

"W-w-we could die, in there?" Chojuro nervously asked.

"Well yeah, it's a real-life mission simulator." Anko sounded like the blue-haired boy was speaking a foreign language.

"Troublesome, so what's the mission?" Shikamaru questioned.

"To get one of each of these." Anko held out a white scroll with the kanji for 'Heaven,' and a dark-blue scroll with the kanji for 'Earth.' "Your goal is to make it back to the tower in the center of the forest with both a Heaven and Earth scroll. Right now there are fifty-five of you, but by the time the test is over, at most, twenty-eight of you will make it back, that means about nine teams will go onto the finals. Of course, all of you could die from the creatures in there." Anko's joyful tone wasn't helping bolster the genins' confidence.

_A survival exercise, an extreme one, no doubt a lot harder than the one Kakashi-sensei put us through_, Sasuke thought.

"So we just have to get a set of these scrolls, shouldn't be too much of a challenge," Kiba said confidently.

Anko sent a smirk that sent a shiver up the Inuzuka's spine. "There's more to this challenge than you think. For starters, there's a time limit. You'll be spending five days in this forest..."

"But what're we gonna do for food!" Choji cried out.

"And showers!" Ino added.

Anko just chuckled. "The forest is filled with plants, you'll find something edible eventually, as for showers, there's a stream that goes through the forest, and the trees provide enough privacy for when you gotta piss or shit."

_The way she says it sounds like she actually lives here; wouldn't put it past her_, Sakura thought.

"Also, if a team can't make it to the tower with each member, they're disqualified whether they have both scrolls or not. But the most important rule is to never open the scrolls until the end of the exam; it's to test how well you can be trusted with important information. Now, get those forms signed and exchange them for one of the scrolls in that booth."

Each of the genin teams used the time given to go over their strategies for the survival, possibly suicide, exam. Sakura decided to talk to Ino, who seemed extremely nervous.

"Hey, Ino, you alright?"

"Huh? Oh Sakura, just a little anxious." Ino seemed to be doing a lot better, though she was far from her former confident self.

"I understand, the way they set up these tests it's almost as if they want us to fail."

"So is Sasuke-kun nervous?"

Surprisingly, Sakura didn't lash out with 'Ino-pig,' or any other insults. "I'm pretty sure he is, but he can handle it. Naruto... it's as if he doesn't even care." Sakura could feel the little voice nagging in her head to tell the blonde next to her about Naruto's secret, but she knew that her sensei had ordered her not to say anything to someone who didn't already know. She still remembered her conversation with her parents the night before.

_Flashback_

Sakura went into the kitchen and took her place adjacent to her where her father sat. Kizashi was in the kitchen helping his wife get dinner ready. Both of them noted their daughter's expression; it was as if something had been eating away at her. As soon as the food was ready both of them poured themselves a cup of tea and offered a third cup to Sakura.

"Something wrong dear? Did you fail the Chunin Exams?" Mebuki asked.

"No, I made it passed the written test, and so did Naruto and Sasuke-kun."

"Then what's eating at you, from what you said you should be celebrating," Kizashi stated.

"It's just, it's about Naruto, why weren't we told he was the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tai..." The girl never got to finish her statement as both of her parents slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Sakura, it's forbidden to speak of it, we could all end up killed!" Mebuki hastily stated.

"How do you even know, it's an S-Rank secret, did somebody gab to you?" Kizashi asked protectively, ready to find the non-existent law breakers.

Sakura took both of their hands off her mouth. "It's alright, we won't get into any trouble." Her parents were surprised by how calm their daughter was. "Naruto told me and Sasuke about the Kyubi on our way back from Wave, and Kakashi-sensei told us we couldn't talk about it to anyone who doesn't already know, so as long as we keep it between us, we're not breaking the Hokage's rule."

"Hm, sometimes I'm still astounded by how smart you are," Kizashi said with a hint of pride.

"So the boy told you about his, _condition_."

"Yes, and I have to know, how come none of our classmates were told about this?"

Mebuki locked her focus on the table in front of her. "*_sigh_* This may take a while. The Sandaime hoped that if the children remained oblivious, then the Uzumaki boy would have a better chance of having a normal childhood. He never intended for anyone to find out but the elders, Homura and Koharu, as well as others on the shinobi council, let it slip that the boy was a demon container, what did you say he was?"

"Jinchuriki," Sakura answered.

"Right, anyway, Sarutobi-sama needed to act quickly before everyone in the Elemental Nations found out, so he decreed that only the boy could tell anyone of his secret, and anyone caught violating his orders would be charged with treason and executed. However, the circumstances under which the law was made didn't give him enough time to think about what the full reprocusoins of his actions would be. The adults, whose minds were clouded by hatred and loss, still saw only the monster that attacked our village and murdered our brethren, and they saw the boy as the beast only in human form, so they told their own children to stay away from him at all costs. I only found all of this out when I was elected onto the civilian council, just a few years after you were born."

"Do you guys only see Naruto as a demon?" Sakura asked.

"I admit there was a time when I couldn't care what happened to the boy, but I trusted the Yondaime more than I hated the Fox, and I still place my trust in his decision of self-sacrifice. I hold no ill will towards the child, but I still advise caution." Kizashi nodded his agreement with his wife.

"You said the boy told you, so I understand that he knows about the Kyubi himself," Mebuki concluded.

"More than you think; on our mission in Wave, Naruto actually used the Fox's chakra to... to kill a rogue ninja." For a moment, Kizashi actually choked on his tea.

"He-he used, the Kyubi's power?" he asked incredulously.

"Calm down Kizashi. Sakura, I'm not telling you to hate the boy, but I do ask you to exercise caution around him; don't give him reason to attack you," Mebuki said.

"Naruto wouldn't harm us, would he?" Sakura said to herself.

"I've seen the way he's treated, and honestly, I can't say that if it were me I wouldn't do the same thing," Kizashi said.

_End Flashback_

At the current moment Sakura wished she could explain to Ino what her parents told her, but only Naruto could decide that.

_Ino, I know I said you'd be my rival in love, but I just wish there was something I could do to make things right._ "Well, I hope you and the others do well, and I hope we see you in the finals."

"Thanks, you too."

"Hey Ino, we're all set, how 'bout you?" Choji asked.

"Yeah, let's get our scroll."

Each of the teams walked through the flap at the booth in front of the fence.

"So you understand that at this moment we are not responsible for any damage to yourself and your teammates?" one of the proctors asked Team 7.

"We know that we could die, but we won't let it happen," Sasuke said.

"Okay, here's your scroll." The proctor handed them a blue Earth Scroll.

Each of the teams took a starting position at one of the forty-four gates that surrounded the Forest of Death. Anko watched as her wristwatch slowly ticked to 2:30 p.m.

"You better not mess this up for us Chojuro." One of the Kiri genin said to the Swordsmen initiate.

"Uh, right." _Zabuza-sensei, Terumi-sama, I promise that I will make you both proud._ Chojuro gripped his katana tighter in preparation for the inevitable bloodshed.

"And the second phase of the Chunin Exam..." *_tick_* *_tock_* *_tick_* *_tock_* "... Begins!" As the gates opened, each of the teams dashed into the forest.

"So Sasuke what's the plan to find a Heaven Scroll?" Sakura asked as she and her teammates jumped through the trees.

"I say we go right for Ino's team." Sakura noticed a little smirk on her blond teammate's face; apparently he had made a bit of a hobby of tormenting the Yamanaka heiress.

"We don't even know if they have a Heaven Scroll, for all we know they could have an Earth Scroll like us and we'd just be wasting our energy," Sasuke stated.

"Well what are we supposed to do genius?"

"We've got five days, that's plenty of time for us to find a Heaven Scroll. First we need to get a feel for the environment, then set up a hideout and install traps..." Sasuke never got to finish his statement because a powerful gust of wind had blasted him off the tree branch, along with Naruto and Sakura. When they regained their balance, they saw three ninja from Kusagakure, the Village Hidden in the Grass.

"Both of you, spread out and make sure no one interferes," said a grass nin with a purple belt tied around their waist. The two Kusa nin disappeared into the forest. He calmly walked up to the tree the three Konoha genin were rooted on.

"I know you want this scroll..." he said in a very effeminate voice as he pulled out a white Heaven Scroll from his pouch, "... so let's negotiate."

"You expect us to just give you our scroll?" Naruto scoffed. The Grass ninja disappeared in a blur.

"Actually I did, but I guess I'll just have to kill you to get it," he said as he instantly appeared behind them. In a flash, he kicked each of them high into the air.

_Even if he is older than us, that's the speed of a jonin_, each of them thought.

"By the time this is over, only one of us shall walk away with both scrolls, and our lives." The Kusa nin somehow swallowed his Heaven Scroll in a single gulp, his chameleon like tongue wrapping around it.

"Sick," Sakura said.

Before any of them could act, they felt an amount of killing intent so powerful, they felt like it was wrapped around their throats, and growing tighter by the second. Their limbs felt as if they were held down with cast iron chains, yet nothing had touched them at all. Sasuke had only felt something like this the night his clan was slaughtered, and his fight against Zabuza. For Naruto, this killing intent could only be matched by the Kyubi. To Sakura, she felt this murderous gaze made Zabuza's pale in comparison.

"Now, you die!" Three kunai were thrown at each of them, aimed straight for their heads. Their minds racing at miles a minute.

_Gotta move._

_Is this how I die?_

**_MOVE YOU_ _IDIOT!_** It was the Kyubi's words that jolted Naruto back to reality, his own killing intent cancelling out the Grass ninja's. He knew that in his current state he wouldn't be able to deflect the kunai from a distance. He could dodge his own, but Sasuke and Sakura were still frozen in place. _You'll thank me for this later_, he thought as he threw a shuriken into their legs.

Both of them dropped to their knees from the unexpected pain, which allowed the kunai to fly right above their heads.

"I must say, that was quite the resourceful tactic, not many people can break out of my Paralysis Jutsu." _No doubt the Kyubi is behind this, otherwise that boy would've been skewered_, the disguised Orochimaru thought. _Now let's see what Itachi's little brother is capable of._

"Naruto, what happened?" Sasuke asked as he and Sakura pulled out the shuriken in their legs. Luckily, they went deep enough to get below the skin, but not enough that it severely crippled them.

"I had to snap you guys to wake up so we can get the hell out of here! Now get Sakura and move!" Sasuke did as he was told and with Sakura draped over his back, he and Naruto went deeper into the forest.

"How amusing, the prey believes it can out run the predator." Orochimaru disappeared into tree branch he stood on.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke found a tree whose roots served as a makeshift hideout. Sasuke placed Sakura up against a tree in a sitting position. She still had that thousand-yard stare.

"_Sakura, Sakura._" The pink-haired kunoichi barely heard her name being called. She didn't even see Sasuke right in front of her. All she saw was a pair of yellow eyes with snake-like slits and a kunai that was aimed straight at her face. She saw her blood spray from her wound on an endless loop. Her body grew cold, losing all feeling starting from the tips of her fingers, and spreading to the rest of her body. She watched as Sasuke and Naruto lay next to right her, their bodies just as lifeless and bloody as hers. And it all started over again. Even with the shuriken wound Naruto gave her, it still wasn't enough to snap her back to full consciousness.

"Naruto, what should we do about Sakura?"

_We can't abandon her, or else we won't be able to pass, and we can't just drop out._ "Keep an eye on her, I'm going to set up some traps while we think about what we're going to do should that Kusa nin come back. Try and wake her up while I'm gone."

Outside Naruto set up several kunai traps with some of Sakura's equipment, given her current state it wasn't as if she would be needing them. While he was doing this, he kept getting a chill, as if someone had been watching him.

_He's here somewhere. He wants us to be on edge, and he's enjoying every minute of it. _By the time he got back, his teammate still hadn't woken up.

"No luck," Sasuke said dejectedly.

"I have an idea." Naruto fished around in his bag until he found what he needed. A senbon needle. "I picked these up off of Haku before we left Wave, I thought they could be useful. We can use these to wake her up. Now old her steady." Reluctantly, the Uchiha held Sakura with her back facing Naruto. Senbon gripped firmly in hand, he struck plunged the needle into her, then pulled it back out. As it went into her skin, Sasuke felt her grip tighten around him. Slowly she looked up, and as her vision became clear again, she saw the face of her black-haired teammate.

"Sa-Sasuke?" She wasn't sure if this was real or another hallucination. She felt his arms around her, and she knew it was reality. Quickly, she held onto him as if he were a life jacket and she was in an ocean. Tears left her face as she remembered seeing him dead next to her. But then she remembered **Shinobi Rule #25.** "A ninja must never show tears." But she couldn't help herself. She never wanted to leave his embrace.

"Uh, Sakura, could you let go of me now," Sasuke nervously asked. Quickly composing herself, she let go.

"Sorry Sasuke-kun, thank you for bringing me back to reality." She turned away, she didn't want him to see her look so pathetic.

"Actually, Naruto was the one who woke you up, and me. If it hadn't been for him, we would've been done for."

"Thanks Naruto."

"Yeah." Most of Naruto's focus was waiting for the freaky Kusa nin to appear. Little did any of them know that Orochimaru was hiding on a branch attached to the very tree they were hiding under.

_The Kyubi jinchuriki holds more promise than anticipated, though he and the civilian girl will have to go in order to properly test the last loyal Uchiha._ Sinking back into to the tree, he appeared just a few meters outside the front of the entrance.

"I know you're in there, there's no use in hiding!" he called out.

_Damn! She bypassed all my traps! _"This seems like a lot of trouble to go to just for a scroll," Naruto called out.

The enemy shinobi just chuckled and said, "Let's just say I enjoy a good chase."

"Naruto, maybe we should just give her the scroll." Sakura reached for the scroll, only for Naruto to throw a kunai that landed in the ground between her hand and the blue scroll.

"The point of this exercise is to bring back a Heaven Scroll _and_ an Earth Scroll. We've already made it this far, and I only plan on going through this exam once." Naruto took the scroll and hid it in his backpack. In a puff of smoke, dozens of shadow clones poured out of the tree roots and rushed at the Kusa shinobi.

"Summoning Jutsu!" In an even larger smoke explosion, a giant brown snake appeared with the Kusa nin standing on its head.

"Holy shit!" was all the clones were able to say as the snake used its massive body to crush each of them. Fortunately, the snake's body set off most of the tripwire that Naruto had placed. Multiple kunai traps were set off, but while they found no trouble in landing marks on the snake, the shinobi on top of it was able to gracefully dodge each knife, almost as if he was made of water. The enraged summon crashed into the tree head first. The snake vanished in a puff of smoke similar to Naruto's clones, only much bigger. When Orochimaru inspected the damage, he found only logs.

"You are much more crafty than I thought, however you are not my target," Orochimaru said to no one in particular.

"Why don't you die already!" screamed Naruto's voice from the trees. Three fuma shuriken flew from the leaves and aimed directly for the disguised snake nin, who easily jumped into the air to avoid each of them. Suddenly, Naruto appeared from out of a tree, disguised with a bark patterned cloak of invisibility. Flying directly to Orochimaru's from behind, he plunged kunai in his back that went of in a massive explosion. The real Naruto jumped to the ground, followed by Sasuke who was still holding Sakura, her arm slung over his shoulder.

"Not bad with the suicide clone Naruto," Sasuke complimented. When they got to the charred body, they noticed that the face seemed to be, sagging? Underneath the skin, they could see something that was a chalky-white. As more and more skin peeled off, they saw pointed, purple markings around the eyes. Suddenly, the body started chuckling!

"You actually managed to get me. Not bad for the demon fox brat of Konoha."

"H-how do you know?!" Naruto asked, shocked that an outsider knew about a high-level S-ranked secret.

"It doesn't matter, you're not my target." The three genin were stunned into silence when the supposed to be dead body opened its eyes to reveal yellow eyes with snake-slits. Was this creature some sort of demon? "Sasuke." Without leaving time for a reply, the white-faced creature lunged its neck out to impossible lengths, and it was aimed straight for Sasuke, who was still paralyzed with fear.

_To be continued..._

* * *

**Omake 1: The Inuzuka's Shame**

**Setting: Pre-Shippuden Canon universe (right after the Search for Tsunade Arc, and before the Sasuke Retrieval Arc)**

As Kiba returned home from an escort mission in Grass country, some wealthy tycoon guy who was in Konoha on a business trip, he noticed a crate in front of a door. He'd seen that crate every time he went through the lot, but now he noticed a tag on a door, a tag he could've sworn wasn't there before in front of a door that definitively hadn't been there before. Unknown to him, two nights before he returned to Konoha, some of his cousins, who enjoyed a few too many cocktails, caused some ruckus. The result of that ruckus, the movement of that crate by four inches. He noticed that the tag had 'UT!,' 'EN!,' and 'OU!' written on it. Curiosity overtaking him, he moved the crate out of the way and found that the tag read, "KEEP OUT!," "DO NOT OPEN!," and "IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU!" Kiba tried to push the door open but found a seal on it, which seemed to keep it from opening.

"Hm, maybe mom knows how to open this thing," he said to himself.

When he went to his house, he found Tsume in the backyard training with Kuromaru.

"Hey mom?!"

"What is it Kiba?"

"Well, I found this door, and there's a seal on it that's keeping me from opening it-" As Kiba was talking, Tsume tensed at what she thought it was.

"Show me where you found the door," she said before Kiba could finish.

"Okay," Kiba said nervously. When he showed her where he found the door, he noticed that his mother's mood was rather... nervous, something that definitely didn't look right on Tsume Inuzuka. Even Kuromaru was shaking.

"So I was wondering if you could take off the tag..." he was cut off mid-sentence as his okaa-san sent a large amount of killing intent his way.

"Kiba, whatever you do in this life, always remember this order: never open that door."

"But what's in..."

"Don't question me boy!" she said sternly. Though stubborn by nature, Kiba knew not to get on his mom's bad side.

Over the next few days he tried to forget about that door, but for some reason, it just kept eating away at his thoughts. He tried to think of other things, but it just pushed its way to the front of his mind. "THAT'S IT! I need to know what's in there," he declared after his training session was over.

_How can I get around mom about this. Maybe Hana can help me._ Kiba made it to the vet clinic just as his older sister was about to finish her shift.

"Hana, I need your help."

"What's up otouto?"

"Follow me back to the compound, I'll show you there." Kiba led her back to where he found the door. "For some reason, mom was actually nervous about taking down that seal, I'd go so far as to say she was scared. Do you have any idea what's in there."

"I don't know what's in there, but after I became a chunin, she told me that behind that door was the shame of our clan."

"Huh, what do you think it may be."

"Maybe we should let it go, if it has a seal on it then it's for a good reason."

"C'mon, you're going to be head of the clan one day, and you have to know all of its secrets if you want do a good job." Kiba hoped that his sister would take the bait. Hopefully her level headedness would falter this time.

"*_sigh_* Fine, but if something goes wrong, I will be putting the blame on you."

"We're not going to get caught, we're just going to pop our heads in and be done before anyone notices."

"I only have a rudimentary knowledge on seals, so hopefully..." Hana poured her chakra into the tag, trying to unbalance it and force it to falter. After about five minutes, with Kiba acting as lookout, her efforts were rewarded as the ink disappeared and the door slid open. The room Hana and her brother found themselves in was pitch black. After closing the door and feeling around for a switch, they were able to get some light from a single ceiling fixture. The room they were in was long, with no windows, so the only light came from the aforementioned lamp. At the far end of the room was a single large crate. Upon further inspection, they could see the initials 'WB,' scratched onto it. It was dark inside so they couldn't look through the air holes. On the crate was another, more complex looking seal.

"Hana, think you can open it."

"I'm not so sure Kiba, I feel like we're already pushing our luck as it is."

"We've made it this far, and it can't be that bad can it?"

"I'm not even sure I can undo this, it looks a lot harder than the other one."

"Just hurry and try, someone could come by at any time." Hana tried to undo the seal, but her assumptions in this seal's strength were true; after about half-an-hour, she felt like she was only half way through breaking the seal. Another half-hour later, and Tsume had just returned to the compound from a tracking mission. On her way home, she saw the crate moved from it's usual spot, and what seemed to be a black tuft. Suddenly, the black tuft disappeared, and she could hear a door sliding shut.

Realization soon kicked in. _No! It can't be! Even he's not that dense as to do something so stupid. Who am I kidding, it's Kiba, Of COURSE HE'D DO SOMETHING THIS STUPID!_

"Hurry up, I think mom may be on to us."

"KIBA, ARE YOU IN THERE?! WHY'S THE SEAL BROKEN?!" Tsume yelled through the door.

"Please tell me you've almost got that thing figured out?" Kiba's voice was panic stricken.

"Almost there."

"HANA! ARE YOU IN THERE! SO HELP ME IF YOU TOUCH THAT SEAL!"

"HURRY!"

"Got it!" Tsume Fang Over Fanged the door just as the seal started pealing away. She stared in horror as time seemed to slow down when the seal made contact with the floor.

"Wha-what have you done?" The cage started to shake, slowly the door swung open. For what seemed like the longest minute, nothing happened, when suddenly...

***_BOOM_*** The cage was blown apart with pieces scattered everywhere.

As the dust in the room settled, the three Inuzuka's saw what was in the heavily guarded cage; they were three... creatures; they looked like dogs, but they stood on only their hind legs, and not like when a dog is standing to get a treat, but the way a human walks; their fur was black on their bodies, but white on their faces and feet, and were those... white gloves they wore on their humanesque hands; they also had small noses that were as red as cherries. What was really amazing was that they wore clothes like people.

The shortest of the three wore only a pink skirt, no top, and a flower that seemed to hold her ears together. The second tallest wore a blue shirt, no pants, and a red cap with holes that allowed his ears to stick out of the tops. The tallest one wore no shirt, like the shortest one, but instead wore brown pants with a black belt.

"No." Tsume faintly said.

"Hey Tsume, it's been a while hasn't it?" the tallest asked.

"You've gotten old haven't you?" the middle one said. Kiba stiffened at the strange dog calling his mom old, but surprisingly, Tsume didn't react immediately, she was still standing in one spot.

"Well we'd love to hang around, but we've got twenty-four years to make up for." Kiba's mother regained her sense of composure, but before she and Kuromaru could react, the three strange creatures were gone.

"Mom, what were those things?" A dark aura surrounded the Inuzuka matriarch as she slowly turned to her son.

"Something that shouldn't have been looked into, YOU BAKA!" Before she could tear into Kiba, Hana came between them.

"Mom, you can kill Kiba later, first tell us what those things are, and how do they know you?"

Tsume growled before conceding. Damn her daughter's level-headedness! She was about to explain when they heard a scream come from somewhere in the village. "Let's find out what that was first!"

Making their way to the center of the village center, they found walls with holes in the shapes of creatures in them. "Something tells me they've been here," Hana deadpanned.

"Kiba!" They turned to see Kurenai running toward them, accompanied by Shino and Hinata.

"Kurenai-sensei!"

"What's going on here?!"

"My little baka gaki here let loose the Warners!"

"_The_ Warners?" Kurenai asked.

"_The_ Warners," Tsume confirmed.

"Um, Kurenai-sensei, what are the Warners?" Hinata asked.

"Should they know?"

"Let's wait 'til we get this problem solved first. Find Hatake, Guy, Sarutobi, and make sure they have their full teams, also see if you can, find Jiraiya-sama, we're going to need all the help we can get; tell them to meet me at the Hokage Tower. Hana, get back to the vet clinic and make sure everything is okay. Gaki, you go with Yuhi-san." Tsume's tone left no room for argument.

_To be continued..._

**Omake 2: Orochimaru vs. Kabuto: The Quest for the Perfect Woman?!**

(I got inspiration for this from an episode of Naruto SD: Rock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden. Episode 36: Orochimaru's Search for Love)

(P.S. This is **NOT** meant to be imagined in chibi form)

"Kabuto, are you sure that this is a good idea?"

"Of course Orochimaru-sama. All you ever do is hold yourself up in your lab and experiment on people. It's time to loosen up a little."

"But is this really the place?"

"I'm doing this for your own good. Now go break some hearts!" Kabuto pushed his master over to a table.

Now Orochimaru was many things: a psychopath; a sociopath; a murder; a certified nutcase; a power hungry megalomaniac; just to name a few, but even he had to admit that there was only so much a person could do on their own. He enjoyed the occasional sake bottle every now-and-then, and like all people, sometimes it was good to have human companionship that didn't involve dissecting said companion on an operating table. But still, _this_, didn't really seem like that much of a good idea. Kabuto had managed to drag him to Tanzaku Town. Normally this wouldn't have been much of a problem, except for the fact that Kabuto had taken him to a restaurant that was having a speed dating night. Needless to say, it wasn't going well. Aside from the fact that years of living underground as the head of an organization that dealt with human experimentations had left him relatively weak in the people skills department, most of the women were usually scared off by either his pasty skin, his slit eyes, or a combination of both, and Kabuto was nowhere to be found.

"Rotten little punk..." Orochimaru grumbled to himself.

"Excuse me, but is this seat taken?" Asked a women.

"I don't own the place," the snake sannin shot back.

"Well what's got you down?" she asked as she took the seat across from him.

"None of the women here seem to find me 'appealing.'" He kept his gaze focused solely on his sake bottle

"Well I can see that the pasty skin is a major turn off," the strange woman joked.

Now Orochimaru was becoming mad. "Hey I don't need to take that form yo..." As he looked up, he saw who he was talking to. The woman he was talking to had blonde hair. Two strands framed her face and ended up intertwining over her chest. She wore a full length, black, body suit that didn't have any sleeves. On both of her bare arms were black, dotted snake tattoos that coiled on her arms. Her eyes were yellow, just like his. Her very essence gave off a sinister aura that seemed to be masked. It was completely enticing.

"So do you have a name?"

"Huh, oh yeah, it's ugh, it's Orochimaru." What the hell was going on with him? The great Orochimaru never stuttered or lost his place in a sentence.

"Interesting. My name is Medusa Gorgon."

"So, how is this supposed to happen? Do we just go to the sex?" Again, not good in the people skill department.

"You don't get out much do you?" _Is this guy serious or just stupid?_ she thought to herself.

"I don't know how something like this is supposed to happen." _Just stupid._

"Well, usually in a conversation you start by asking a few questions. I'll start. So what are some of your hobbies?"

"Well, I like plotting to take over my home village. Experimenting to make myself immortal. Oh, I also like torture."

"You like all that too?"

"So what else are you into?" Orochimaru asked. This woman was more interesting than he assumed.

"We'll just so I can get it out of the way, I have a son. (I'm just going with son. Deal with it.) His name is Crona. I have spent all his life destroying any confidence he has in himself in order to turn him into the perfect weapon." She just went up a few points on Orochimaru's "Hot Meter."

"I also used him for experiments involving black blood-" And she uses her own child to create living weapons. What was this strange feeling growing in the pit of his very being. Was this, infatuation. Orochimaru could slowly feel himself going deaf as the rest of the world slowly faded away from him, leaving only the sadistic goddess that sat only feet away from him. Unbeknownst to him, his uber long tongue started sliding out of his mouth and onto the table.

"Um, is everything alright?" Medusa asked when she saw that Orochimaru seemed to be in a daze.

"Everything's fine," he drooled out.

"So, do you have any interests in animals?" she asked him. At first, Orochimaru wanted to go with the generic puppies and kittens, but something about this woman made him believe he could be honest. Maybe the snake tattoos were for more than just show.

"Actually, I have a summoning contract with snakes-"

"Your familiar is with snakes too?!" she asked incredulously.

"Familiar?"

"Follow me, I'll show you what I mean." She lead him out to the front of the restaurant and held out her arms. "Nake snake cobra cobra." The tattoos on her arms sprang to life becoming giant snake heads on dotted bodies. Orochimaru was awestruck at this display.

"Now let's see what you can do," Medusa said.

Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram "Summoning Jutsu!" In a giant smoke explosion, the snake king Manda appeared in the middle of the street. The pedestrians ran in sniveling fear, but Medusa stared in amazement at the snake lord.

"Impressive eh?" Orochimaru said. Sending Manda back to Ryuchi Cave, in order to avoid its inevitable questioning of why it was summoned out of nowhere, the snake sannin turned his gaze over to Medusa, who was quickly composing herself.

Long story short, they had the time of their lives sending people screaming into the night, and getting drunk.

When his master returned to the hideout, Kabuto had to support him. "So I take it things went well?"

"Kabuto, I met the most perfectest woman in the world!" Orochimaru slurred.

"So what's she like?"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say someone made a clone of me, we have the same interests, and she's coming over tomorrow," the sannin said in ecstasy.

"If she's able to get you like this, I'd like to meet her."

The next day Orochimaru and Kabuto stood outside the entrance to their lair, waiting for the woman who brought a new dark light into the former's life. They saw two specks in the sky. Looking up, they saw Medusa flying on a broomstick, followed by a child with pink hair and black wings sprouting from his back. When they landed Medusa went up to Orochimaru, followed by the child, who he assumed to be her son Crona, who was awfully effeminate for a boy.

"Sorry about Crona, but I couldn't find a sitter, is it okay if he stays here."

"Not a problem, by subordinate Kabuto will look after him."

"Right, Orochimaru-sama." Little did any of them know, but Kabuto was checking out Medusa. Crona also grabbed onto his scientific fascination. When the adults were gone, Kabuto wasted no time in running tests on Crona, who surprisingly offered no resistance. Whatever this Medusa woman did to him, it was thorough. When the tests came back, he was astonished, apparently, the black wings weren't a part of the pink-haired boy, but of a sentient weapon. More specifically, a sword that she infused with black blood and injected into Crona. Now Kabuto felt a sensation in his very being. The woman who was currently with his master was not only beautiful, but she was able to create living weapons and merge them with human hosts. Kabuto had found his new purpose in life, to be with Medusa Gorgon, even if she was dating Orochimaru. And he would do it by any means necessary.

_To be continued..._

* * *

Hey, hope you enjoyed the omakes. As you can see, I've really gotten into Soul Eater.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I have a question: does the transformation jutsu actually make you into what you transform into, or is it just an illusion. It's listed as ninjutsu, but I'm kinda confused.

Again, place your votes on whether Sasuke should get the Curse Mark or not.


	11. Poll Announcement

Poll announcement!

* * *

Thank you all for staying with the story so far. Okay, the poll has been decided, and Sasuke...

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Won't get the Curse Mark.

Sorry, but the polls came in and for those of you who wanted him to get it, well, you were outvoted by one vote. Sorry.

If you want to see the results, it'll be on my profile.


	12. Where the Roads Divide

**Naruto and Sasuke: Switched**

Hello, if you've read the poll announcement, then you should know that Sasuke won't be getting the Cursed Seal of Heaven. And no, Sakura won't get it; nobody will get it, at least not now.

_**Chapter 11: Where the Roads Divide**_

Though he was once again an official Kiri ninja, Zabuza had to admit, Konoha had some damn good dango. Sitting on the roof of the dango shop, flanked by two hunter-nin, he munched on the sweet dumplings as he looked over the village as the sun set behind the Hokage Mountain. It was nothing like Kiri. Kiri's architecture style was rather conservative in nature, with multiple cylinder shaped buildings that many people could live in. Being islanders, Kiri citizens didn't have the luxury of massive amounts of land, so the cylinder apartments allowed them to use minimal amounts of land, while housing all of its inhabitants; though it also helped that Kiri had the least amount of people of all the Five Great Nations.  
However, Konoha went in the complete opposite direction. For one, land restrictions weren't a problem for them. Earlier, when he took a look from the Hokage Monument, he could barely see any people because the buildings were clustered so tightly together with trees filling in any gaps.

"Only two hunter-nin Zabuza, what happened to the other three?" Without turning around, the former missing-nin signaled his bodyguards to stand down. "They've gone back to the Land of Water to prepare for the Mizukage's arrival, though these two were ordered to stay with me. I hear that the first part of the test was administrated by your village's best torturer. Is this true?"

"Yes, and the second part is being proctored by his second in command, Anko Mitarashi."

"Chojuro told me about her, he said she seemed a little too hyperactive to be an interrogator."

"Trust me, if she wanted to, I have no doubt that Anko could be a welcome member of Kiri's own Interrogation Corps," Kakashi calmly answered.

"So your little brats have survived so far, the little blond kid's got fight, and the Uchiha seems to know what he's doing, but I'm not so sure about little pinky, the whole time in Wave, I just couldn't see her as a ninja."

"Sakura may not have the abilities of the other two, but she knows how to take care of herself. What about your little pupil? Sakura told me you're teaching what could be the rebirth of the Seven Swordsmen."

"Chojuro may get nervous from time to time, but when push comes to shove, he'll shove right back." _At least I hope he can._

* * *

In the Forest of Death, Chojuro inexplicably sneezed.

"You better not be coming down with a cold Chojuro," one of the Kiri genin answered.

"I'm fine Ken," the blue haired boy said to a boy wearing a leaf patterned cloak.

"Hasu, you've got those traps set up?" Ken called out. From the canopy dropped a girl wearing a full camouflage cloak.

"The perimeter is secure. Where's Kashoku?" Another girl wearing a camo cloak appeared. "I sensed some sort of anomaly. Four chakra signatures. One was rather weak, another at mid chunin level, while two of them were distinctly at kage level."

"Kage, you sure that's what you felt?" Ken asked.

"I'm never wrong, I think it would be a good idea to observe this." Leaving no room for argument, the censor of Chojuro's temporary team moved to the spot of the disturbance. Using their cloaks for disguise, the four Kiri genin saw a boy in a painfully bright orange suit stab a person from behind, followed by a massive explosion. Soon, they saw that same genin jump down from a hidden spot on a tree. Following him was a boy with black hair, holding a pink-haired girl over his shoulder.

"That was a clone in the explosion, and it was made from pure chakra, interesting," Kashoku thought aloud.

"Those are the three Zabuza-sensei introduced me to," Chojuro said to himself. Suddenly, the charred corpse's head lunged for the black haired boy. Thinking quickly, or rather not at all, Chojuro grabbed the hilt of his katana.

* * *

"Sasuke!" Sasuke saw the strange white creature's head lunge toward him. Its massive maw filled with pearly white, razor-sharp teeth. Once again, his body was paralyzed with fear. Could this thing be even deadlier than Itachi? But as soon as the pale head came near him, he felt a strong hit to his side. Glancing to his left, he found that Sakura had removed herself; in her hands she held a kunai.

_This thing wants to hurt Sasuke-kun, I can't let that happen!_ When the head passed between them, she plunged the kunai into its stupidly long neck, and in the next instant, she and it were engulfed in a powerful explosion.

"Sakura!" Sasuke screamed. As the smoke cleared, he and Naruto saw the strange shinobi walk out of it with only charred skin that he casually peeled off. Now his forehead protector had changed from the symbol of Kusa, to an image of a musical note. Sakura on the other hand, was thrown across the clearing, the blast burning off most of the lower and middle parts of her dress, just leaving her top on, though damaged beyond repair.

The strange person, now known to be a man, walked over to the girl's unconscious from. "Meddlesome little girl. If I had known you would be this much of a nuisance, I would've killed you from the start." As he said this, he kicked her body even further away.

"YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!" Easily, yet narrowly avoiding a kunai, Orochimaru now found himself being stared down by an angry Uchiha. Finally, he would get what he came for. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be. In another world, he may have gotten to carry out his plans, but here, multiple factors out of his control worked against him. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a strong wave of blue and barely had time to avoid it. Regaining his bearings, he saw a boy with light blue hair and a sword jump in front of Kakashi's genin. The sword was coated in chakra, and the boy was breathing rather heavily. That, along with the ripped up ground, signified that the attack was meant to be a one-hit kill-blow. Soon, even more Kiri genin flanked him from all sides. It seemed that the gods were not with the snake sannin today. "Mark my words Sasuke, we will meet again." And with that, he disappeared into ground.

* * *

"You guys okay?" Chojuro rushed over to Sasuke, who had gone over to take care of Sakura. "Hasu, help her out." Reluctantly, the girl placed her palms over the pinkette. As her hands glowed green, she moved them over the body. "Sit her up," she said to Sasuke. As she helped him prop her up, she started wrapping gauze over the damaged skin. "Luckily that paper bomb wasn't powerful enough to kill, but her proximity did a fair amount of damage so she may be out for a while."

"C'mon Chojuro, we've wasted enough time here, let's move," Ken ordered.

"Chojuro, wait," Sasuke said. "Why did you help us?"

"You guys convinced Zabuza-sensei to come back to the Hidden Mist, I guess I just owed you that much." Following the others, he disappeared back into the forest.

Helping his teammate, Naruto brought Sakura to a stretch of forest that turned into a valley that lead to a large river. They found a bunch of flat stones scattered around, and with the use of Naruto's shadow clones, they turned it into what could serve as a temporary hideout. Forming six new clones, he divided them up into three groups of two. The first group was ordered to set traps; the second groups collected firewood; and the third group went to the river to catch fish.

In all the excitement, none of them had realized that it was already morning.

* * *

As the sun reached its peak, Naruto told Sasuke that the only teams in the immediate area was a Kusa team about three miles to the north that was currently in a fight with an Ame group, and Ino's group to the southwest.

"S-Sasuke?" Both of them turned to find Sakura slowly, yet painfully waking up.

"Easy Sakura," Sasuke said as he helped her into a sitting position.

"What happened?"

"You took a nasty exploding tag at point blank," Naruto said.

"You saved me from that Grass ninja. Kami knows what it would've done if you hadn't acted," Sasuke said with a smile. Sakura returned the smile, but winced in pain as she tried to sit up. "Easy Sakura, you're still recovering. While you were out, Chojuro and his team came and healed you."

"Right now we're next to the river that runs through the forest, and from what my clones saw, we shouldn't be getting any trouble from people..."

*_**BOOM**_*

"What was that?" Sasuke asked.

"Those were some of the bomb traps my clones set up." _But there isn't supposed to be anyone in that direction._ "Sasuke, you stay with Sakura, I'm going to check out what's going on." Leaving his supplies in the hideout, Naruto set off to find what new trouble was coming to them.

* * *

_Wind Scythe Jutsu!_ Swinging her battle fan, Temari blew away another paper bomb trap. Gaara simply stood in a single spot, his sand protecting him from whatever came his way. Kankuro, possessing few defensive skills, simply stayed between his little brother and older sister.

"Let's keep going," Gaara said without looking at them. Soon they continued jumping through the trees.

"Gaara, what are we doing? We already have both scrolls, we could've been back at the tower by now..."

"Quiet Kankuro," Gaara said without even looking him in the eye.

"Why you..."

"Kankuro that's enough," Temari ordered. "So Gaara, what exactly are we doing here." Like Kankuro, she was confused as to why they weren't back at the tower, but unlike Kankuro, she knew not to aggravate her youngest brother.

"That boy we met, the blond one. Mother sensed something coming from him, and she wants it dead."

Kankuro gulped. Whatever was enough to garner this kind of special attention from 'Mother' was... well, he didn't know what it was. He just knew that he pitied the poor bastard on the end of that stick.

"He's here," Gaara said as he made a gesture for the others to halt. After waiting for two minutes, the orange kid from before jumped down from the trees, followed by twelve clones, each armed with kunai.

"What're you doing here. From what your brother said, you should be back at the tower."

"I wanted to find you. You and I are the same."

"What're you getting at?"

"I can sense a great hatred in you, but it's not part of you." Gaara noticed that Naruto's stance tensed considerably. "Ah, so it seems I'm right. And now I must kill you." At the moment he finished his sentence, multiple sand arms shot towards the blond, their fingers sharp as sword tips. Rushing to protect their creator, the clones moved in front of Naruto and took the attacks. Several clones that didn't get hit, along with the original, jumped high into the trees to avoid the chakra infused sand.

"Why do you want to kill me, to bring down the competition in the exams?" Naruto said to him.

"The exams are irrelevant, by killing the house of such power, I will be able to cement my existence. I refuse to disappear." Now Naruto was sure that this guy was insane. Retreating back to camp would be a bad idea; Sakura was still down, and Sasuke wouldn't be able to defend her and fight off these sand guys; plus, all of them didn't seem to have a scratch on them; coupled with the fact that the girl could use the fan on her back to attack from a distance, and the fact that he still didn't know what the boy in black was able to do, he had no choice but to retreat.

Forming the cross hand seal, two dozen clones appeared around him. Each threw a kunai with an explosive tag attached. In the mass confusion, each clone went separate directions.

"He certainly has power, I can't wait to face him again," Gaara said, a malicious glint in his eyes.

* * *

The only way Karin could describe her current situation. Shit, absolute shit. First she loses track of her team, then she can't find her way out of this kami-forsaken forest. Now, she finds herself about to be lunch for a gargantuan bear in this kami-forsaken forest. Orochimaru-sama was not going to be pleased one bit. Suddenly, she felt a powerful chakra signature getting closer and closer; multiple signatures actually. At first she thought this was a team of chunin coming to save her from the bear, but then she noticed something else; something odd. Each of the chakra signatures was exactly the same in not only essence, but in amounts; neither having more or less than another.

Out from the trees behind the bear, about five genins fell to the ground. Realization struck her that this was the same person she sat behind in for the written test. Though she mainly ignored it something about him kept drawing her concentration back to him. For one thing, even when measuring the chakra of all the proctors, even the redheaded Suna boy, their own paled in comparison to the amount that this boy possessed. Something about the chakra itself raised several red lights for her. For one thing, it felt, for lack of a better word... familiar. Somehow, she could see it as similar to her own. But what truly intrigued her was the second presence. This second chakra felt as if someone had compacted an entire ocean and shoved it into a human; above all else, this chakra felt evil, choking even. Turning back to the bear, she saw it lose focus on her, and instead went after what seemed like an obviously larger meal. As the bear charged at the blond, he divided himself even further. Each of them rushed the bear back. When they collided the bear was knocked back by the sheer numbers of the clones. It ran off with dozens of kunai sticking out of it.

In all the excitement, Karin dropped her heaven scroll, which the clones quickly capitalized on. When Karin finally realized what they were doing, she was too late to do anything about it, as the clones dispersed and the blond fled.

_Who was that?_

* * *

When Naruto made it back to the clearing, he found Sasuke under attack by three genin, each with a musical note on their headbands. _Can't we catch a break for once?_ Creating even more clones, he had them sneak up on the sound genin. Unfortunately, the Oto girl heard him coming. He quickly dodged a bell with a needle in it, but didn't notice a normal senbon until it drove itself into his right arm. He held back a scream of pain as whole nerve clusters were attacked and his limb now became useless. The thrown senbon kept ringing, and now he was seeing multiple replicas of the dark-haired girl. When he tried to strike at one of them, he found that he couldn't move his arms or his legs.

"What?! What's wrong with me, why can't I move?" he strained out.

"It's the Illusion Bell Needles Jutsu," The Oto kunoichi said. "The sound of these bells is special, because it travels throughout your ear and into your brain, effectively destroying your motor function, and then you'll see more of me." Despite his best efforts, Naruto couldn't get his body to respond to him. "It's useless," all of the kunoichi said. "You've lost, and now you'll have to watch as we kill your teammates-"

"Kin, stop bragging and just finish him!" a boy wrapped almost entirely in bandages said.

"Fine Dosu," Kin answered. She walked toward him pulling out a senbon. "All I need to do is put this in the base of your skull; don't worry, it'll be a quick and painless death." No matter what movements his brain thought of, Naruto couldn't break out of the genjutsu. Despite how the idea sickened him, neither Sakura or Sasuke could help him. The former had apparently taken a kunai to the left shoulder, while the latter was busy fighting of the other two Oto nin.

"Good night little boy," the girl said as the senbon touched his skin.

* * *

Sasuke grabbed his head as the mummy guy sent another sound wave at him. He surprised himself by still being able to stand. The other one was only a distraction; his fire jutsu being a powerful counter to Zaku's wind. But still, he knew that it would only be a matter of time until they killed him, and more than likely kill Sakura. The girl seemed to have Naruto in a genjutsu, and was about to put a needle through his head. All of a sudden, a dark essence cast itself around the field, and the girl, who he found out was named Kin, jumped back to her teammates.

"Kin what's the matter, is that little pest dead or what?" the Oto genin named Dosu asked.

"Or what?" a voice that was practically growling said. Turning from Sasuke, but still keeping their weapons up, the Sound ninjas' eyes nearly burst from their heads. There stood Naruto, shrouded in red chakra; his fangs now an inch long, and his whisker marks no longer lines, but thick, black streaks; once cerulean blue eyes were now blood red with black slits for pupils. "You bastards are gonna die!" he screamed as he charged at the three enemy shinobi.

Forgetting their mission to kill the Uchiha, Dosu, Zaku, and Kin quickly jumped out of the way of the rampaging jinchuriki. However, they quickly found out that this boy didn't give up easily. With inhuman speed and strength, even for a ninja, he quickly covered the distance between himself and Zaku, and performed a Kyubi chakra version of the dynamic entry, but with both feet. While the Oto boy was distracted, the blond grabbed his right arm. Spinning the boy around in the air like a track and fielder would before throwing the hammer. Naruto let go when enough speed and momentum was built; Zaku went flying through the air and landed in a heap of dirt on the other side of the river. Naruto went after Dosu next. The leader of the Oto team tried to use his Melody Gauntlet to slow the boy down, but he just dodged each blast with unbelievable agility. In a flash Naruto was at him. First, he landed a punch straight to the center of his face, and while he was distracted, the blond chomped down on the steel gauntlet. Knowing that she had nothing in her arsenal to hold off a jinchuriki, Kin quickly picked up the unconscious body of Zaku. Returning to Dosu, who was cradling his right arm, she left a blue Earth Scroll in front of him. "Take it and leave us alone!" she said as she and Dosu went back into the forest.

Naruto took slow, deep breaths, and soon, the Kyubi chakra stopped pouring out of him. He took the Earth Scroll and placed it in his pouch. He knew that his team didn't need it, but it could replace their current scroll if it got damaged during the fight or on the way back, and could be used as a bargaining chip against any of the other teams with a Heaven Scroll. Naruto went back to the hideout to find Sasuke wrapping bandages around Sakura's left shoulder. "Sasuke, when your done tending to Sakura, help her up, we're going to the tower."

"You found a Heaven Scroll?" the Uchiha asked.

"Yeah, now hurry; the longer we stay here, the sooner we could be found by another team." Unbeknownst to any of them, an eye floating in the air quickly dissolved into sand.

* * *

In the tower, a vicious grin broke out on Gaara's face, scaring his older siblings. Grins like that never meant anything good. "Yes, he is the one I want to fight," the psychotic boy said to himself.

* * *

**Definitions  
**Ken - the Japanese word for sword  
Hasu - the Japanese word for lotus  
Kashoku - the Japanese word for bright light

**Author's Notes:**

Hello everyone. I don't really know if Karin will have any more significance in this story, I just wrote her into this chapter because I wanted to see if it'd go anywhere.

Just to let you know, I'm going to be working on a new Naruto story of my own, so I my attention is going to be divided. As of now, my Teen Titans story Your Greatest Enemies is officially on hiatus, though it's not up for adoption. I do plan of finishing it.


	13. Flashbacks and Confessions

**Naruto and Sasuke: Switched**

**Key**:

Normal = narrative

"Normal in quotation marks" = normal speech

_Italics_ = thoughts

_"Italics with quotation marks"_ = reading/writing

*_Italics inside asterisks_* = actions such as panting, coughing, or wheezing

_**Bold**** italics**_ = Onomatopoeias such as boom to represent explosions. Also used for when a bijū is talking to it's jinchuriki through telepathy.

**"Bold in quotation marks"** = Bijū talking to their jinchuriki in their mindscapes

Underlined = simultaneous speech

* * *

_**Chapter 12: Flashbacks and Confessions?**_

* * *

_It's been only three days since the second part of the exams started, but more's happened in those three days than the whole Wave fiasco. I still can't stop thinking about that freaky Sound-nin. What'd he mean by 'we'll meet again?' On top of that, that Sound team hurt Sakura even more. I really hope they have medics in the tower._ Ever since Naruto fought off Dosu and his cronies, he and Sasuke were racing back to the red tower in the center of the forest. Currently, Sakura was out-cold, so Sasuke was carrying her on his back. Naruto was out in front while five clones flanked him and his teammates. Using his Sharingan every now and then, Sasuke would look around the immediate area for even the smallest bit of movement. So far they hadn't encountered any trouble on the way back, but after all they'd been through in the hellhole forest, they weren't going to take any chances.

"*_sigh_* Finally we made it back," Naruto said as he and Sasuke landed outside the tower. One of the shadow clones opened the door and braced itself for a possible booby trap. However, when nothing jumped out to attack them, they entered into the large room.

"Huh, I would suspect someone would be here to make sure we have both scrolls," Sasuke mused. "Hey Naruto, what do you think that means." He pointed to a giant glass casing with an inscription that read:

_"If qualities of Heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher.  
__If Earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack.  
__When Heaven and Earth are opened together, the perilous path will become righteous forever.  
__This _ is the secret way that guides us from this path today."_

"Obviously this has something to do with the Heaven and Earth Scrolls. 'When Heaven and Earth are opened together,' I guess it means we open the scrolls at the same time," Naruto said as he reached into his shuriken pouch and pulled out the Heaven Scroll and one of their two Earth Scrolls.

"Wait, Naruto, maybe you should have your clones open it in case it's another trap." Two clones stepped forward; slowly, they unraveled the white and blue scrolls. Surprisingly, no hidden shuriken or giant monsters appeared as the scrolls were unraveled. Instead, on both pieces of paper, there was only a complex looking seal matrix centered around 'Jin,' the Kanji for person. Suddenly, smoke started leaking out of both scrolls. The two clones threw the scrolls away and quickly jumped back as a figure started to emerge from the smoke. They flanked the figure to its left and right, kunai drawn and ready to strike.

"Lay down your weapons now." The voice was clearly a woman's, and very commanding, though the clones refused to do as she said. When the smoke cleared, it revealed a woman with long, black, curly hair. She wore a pink kimono, red pants, and oval-shaped glasses.

"Suzume-sensei?" Though Sasuke and Naruto had never had classes with Suzume Nakamura, they had seen her in passing while she was teaching the girls in the Academy. "Oh my, what is wrong with Sakura-chan?" she exclaimed as she rushed over to help Sasuke with one of her former students; as she went past Naruto, she flashed him a quick glare, seemingly believing he was the one to do this to her.

"Sakura took a kunai to the shoulder from one of those Sound guys, and an exploding tag at point blank," Sasuke explained.

"I'll take her to the medics." Suzume picked up the unconscious girl and made for the door before Naruto's clones stepped in her path. "Out of my way boy, can't you see I need to get her to a doctor."

"First tell us what you were doing in those scrolls." Suzume really didn't appreciate being forcefully interrogated by the Kyubi brat, but she had to get help for Sakura soon. "Many of the villages chunin are required to greet the successful participants at the end of the second exam. And I wasn't in the scrolls themselves, I was just waiting for someone to summon me so I could inform them about that proverb." She pointed to the giant framed paper. "It basically means to strengthen yourself where you're weakest, be it in mind or body. The five days in the forest were supposed to see how well you would be able to handle the kind of missions that chunin must go through. There I've explained now let me take care of Sakura-chan." The two clones stepped out of her way.

"Suzume-sensei, what are me and Naruto supposed to do now? There are still two days left in the exam." Sasuke asked.

"Go through that door and one of the proctors will show you to your rooms. They're fully equipped with food and drink to last you until the exam is over." With that Suzume left for the infirmary with the unconscious girl.

* * *

"So, what do you think Iruka?"

"They did a lot better than I expected, Hokage-sama." Iruka watched from a separate room as Suzume spoke with Kakashi's team. In all honesty, Iruka thought that they would barely make it on the last day, but they blew his expectations away when they came in after only three. "I still wish you would've let me be the one to be summoned by them."

"Iruka, you know that right now Naruto still has issues trusting you."

"I know Hokage-sama, I know."

_Flashback_

Iruka watched as for the third time Naruto failed his genin. Only this failure wasn't like the other two. Now, everyone else from Naruto's class had passed, making him more of the odd man out.

"I know you did everything you could Iruka, Naruto just didn't get lucky this time. You shouldn't blame yourself," Mizuki said, trying to comfort the scarred chunin.

"*_sigh_* He works twice as hard as the others, but he's still having problems. Part of me wants to pass him, to show him that all the training wasn't for nothing, but the teacher in me just won't let me do that."

"Well, with the way he works himself into the ground, I don't think graduation will be too hard for him next time. I'll go talk to him." As the silver-haired chunin went over to the boy, Sarutobi came over to Iruka. "Iruka, come with me." Iruka followed his supreme commander into the red mission administration tower.

"I know that you want to speak to me about Naruto, Lord Hokage." Iruka meant no disrespect, but he didn't feel like beating around the bush right now.

* * *

Naruto sat on the swings and watched as everyone who graduated, meaning everyone except for him, was being congratulated by their proud parents. He hated it, and he hated them. How come they got to have families that loved and supported them, while he was alone and almost everyone hated his guts. Sure there was Teuchi-ji-san and Ayame-nee-chan, but they weren't always around. He lived all by himself. He knew that he trained harder than any of his classmates, but there's only so much a person can teach themselves. A lot of the others had ninja families, and some had clans with their own specialized jutsu. At times, he felt even lower than the civilian kids, at least their parents could help them in their academic studies. Iruka was a nice teacher, but couldn't he have cut him a break. After his second failure, Iruka told him that if he cut Naruto a break, then not only would he have to do it for everyone, but it would likely get Naruto killed in the future.

As he got up to go home, Mizuki-sensei appeared before him. "Hey Naruto, how ya' feelin'?"

"Terrible," Naruto answered bluntly.

"C'mon, I want to talk to you." Reluctantly, Naruto agreed. He only hoped that it would be over soon, all he planned on doing for the next few weeks was to just try and sleep the pain away. Mizuki-sensei led him to the top of the Hokage Monument, where they sat on the back of Sarutobi-jii-san's head.

"I know that Iruka may seem to go hard on you, but he only wants you to grow up to be a strong ninja. It's really a compliment that he cares so much for you."

Naruto sat with his legs pulled up and his knees pressing against his chest. "It's not Iruka-sensei, it's the village. What's so wrong with me that they treat me like shit. I've never done anything to deserve it. I've never pranked anyone, I never steal. I hate them, but I hate it even more that I don't really know why they hate me." After years of not knowing, Naruto started coming up with his own ideas of why people hated him, but until Sarutobi-jii-san decided to spill, they'd only be theories. He could feel tears start to build up, but he refused to let them out. "I thought that if I became a ninja, they'd treat me differently, I mean, no one ever gives you crap, right?"

"Not that I can remember." Secretly, Naruto hoped that Mizuki would say the opposite, just so he could feel a little better about himself. "Actually, there still may be a way for that to happen. "Naruto's eyebrows formed a quizzical expression. "You see, there's a secret test for students who haven't passed the ordinary test. All you have to do is sneak into the Hokage's house, find a scroll called the Scroll of Seals, and learn just one technique."

"That's it?"

"Yes, and who knows, maybe if you do good enough, you'll be made chunin."

"Wait, if this is like a make-up test, then how come you and Iruka-sensei never told us about it?"

"Well, there is only one scroll, and we didn't think there would be any failures this year, so we didn't think it was necessary. Besides, I think you might be good enough." Naruto was still confused about this whole secret test thing, but Mizuki seemed honest, if a little off-putting at times. "So what's your decision?"

Years ago, Naruto had decided to not be so hopeful, it just lead to pain, but right now, he allowed some hope seep in, after all, he already failed to graduate, if he failed again, it's not like things could get any worse. If only he knew what he was getting himself into.

* * *

Iruka laid down in his bed, thinking about the Hokage's words.

_Flashback in the flashback_

"Naruto is much like you Iruka, he's all alone. No mother, no father. But you at least knew your family, that's something I can't say for Naruto." Iruka nodded, after all, he'd been watching Naruto since he started the Academy. "He may not seem to show it, but he craves the love only a parent can give him, but no one is willing to do that, so he closes himself off from everyone around him to stop any more pain."

_End flashback in the flashback_

Iruka thought back to his own youth. He remembered all the times he acted out to get attention. He thought of all the times that Naruto could've gone down the same path. He was brought out of these thoughts when there was a fervent knocking at his door.

"Iruka, please hurry!" That was Mizuki. When he opened the door, there he stood, panicking.

"Mizuki what's-" Before he could finish his question, Mizuki cut him off.

"Iruka, it's an emergency! Naruto stole the Scroll of Seals!"

* * *

Naruto sat down in front of the shack to catch his breath. Surprisingly, stealing the scroll was pretty easy. Okay, easy would've been a bit too strong; more like somewhat challenging. The ANBU guards were a problem, but he noticed that there were less of them in the evening, probably because there were still people out on the streets so they could witness anything happening. As an ANBU with a green and red-marked cat mask walked away, he made his move. Using the Cloak of Invisibility, throughout the building he found a scroll that looked like what Mizuki-sensei had described. Being in a hurry, he quickly departed with the large scroll. Had he taken time to examine the scroll, he would've noticed a small swirl symbol carved into the scroll's holders.

"Okay, let's see what I can learn from this." Naruto opened up the page to the first jutsu. If Naruto hadn't known better, he would've thought this was some cruel joke. The very first jutsu in the stupid scroll was the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu.

"Forget that." He unrolled more of the scroll, hoping to find something he could pull off; unfortunately, it wasn't working out. All of the techniques were either very high A-rank, or S-rank. One technique was something called the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style, which was apparently a very powerful sealing jutsu; but because fūinjutsu was never covered in the Academy, except for basic sealing that was offered as an extra course, he glossed right over it. The last jutsu was something called the Dead Demon Consuming Seal. He thought that it sounded pretty cool and wanted to try it out; that is until he learned that it was murder-suicide technique. Sighing in frustration, he went back to the dumb clone jutsu. After reading more about the technique, he found that, unlike regular clones, this technique produced solid copies of the user, and anything learned from the clones was transferred back to the user.

* * *

Four hours later, an exhausted Naruto was found by a very angry looking Iruka.

"Sensei, *_pant_* *_pant_* are you here to grade my performance?" Naruto decided that if he was going to become genin, he needed his most respectful behavior, which right now was very impressive considering it was usually zilch.

Iruka's angry expression quickly changed from one of anger to confusion. "Grade? Naruto, what are you talking about."

"The make-up test. Mizuki-sensei told me that if I could learn at least one technique from this scroll, then I could become a ninja, maybe even chunin, and I did." Naruto's tone held no excitement or any possible deceit; he was simply explaining what he'd been told.

_Mizuki? Why would he tell him something like that. Wait? Did Naruto say he managed to learn a jutsu, from the scroll?_ Suddenly, he heard the sound of kunai rushing towards him. "Naruto, get down!" He pushed Naruto out of the way, but a few kunai managed to lodge themselves into him, but he was able to avoid getting pinned to the wall of the shack.

"Naruto, give me the scroll." Mizuki commanded.

Iruka grunted in pain as he pulled a kunai out of his left leg, which caused him to fall to one of his knees. "Mizuki, why'd you lie to Naruto? You know there's no make-up test!"

"Naruto, Iruka is the one who's lying to you, he doesn't want you to have the scroll or graduate, so he's trying to get you to fail."

"STOP LYING!" Iruka tried to jump at the man he had thought of as his friend, but a shot of pain went threw his leg. Mizuki used that opportunity to launch one of his fūma shuriken, this time cutting Iruka's right leg.

"Please Iruka, if anyone is lying here, it's you. Naruto, I'm going to tell you a secret."

_No! He wouldn't dare!_

"Do you have any idea why the village hates your guts?"

"It's because I was born on the day the Kyūbi attacked the village, that's it, right?" Two years ago, when Iruka was going over history lessons, and came to the subject of the Nine-Tails attack, Naruto had decided that the village must've seen him as some omen, as if he was the monster reincarnated. In truth, that wasn't very far off the mark, but as we've mentioned before, until Sarutobi spilled, he'd never know for sure; until now.

"Actually, it's a lot more than that. You see... you ARE the Kyūbi!" Those words hit Naruto harder than a gōken strike to the jaw. Without even knowing it, he started backing away from Mizuki until he felt himself press up against the wall of the shack. "That's right Naruto, you're the monster that destroyed the village, killed Iruka's parents, and took away Yondaime-sama. He wasn't able to stop you, so he turned you into a baby. In fact, that scroll you have right now was what he used to pull it off." Naruto glanced down to the item in his hands. Everything around him disappeared as everything finally seemed to fit together. Suddenly, Naruto was assaulted, not physically, but mentally. Images flooded his mind. Images of burning buildings, screaming people. He saw how he crushed them underneath his paws, how easy it was, the feeling of power that came with it. Naruto fell to his knees, gripping his head, trying to get the images to stop.

"Now Naruto, I'm going to finally end your reign. DIE!" Naruto was too wrapped up in his mental pain to even here Mizuki's declaration, let alone know that a fūma shuriken was heading right for him.

_I did that? But if I did, how come I never remembered any of that? Did the Fourth seal my memories. Does this mean that even ji-san and nee-chan hate me?_ The sound of steel hitting flesh faintly registered to him. He thought that he'd be on his way to hell right now. After all, that's where demons lived, right? He didn't feel any cuts on him, so he was sure he was dead. Until he felt something warm and wet drip onto his face. He opened his eyes to find Iruka standing over him, the giant shuriken sticking out of his back. He coughed up blood before he spoke. "Naruto, you and I, we're are kinda similar. I grew up alone, and I would do anything to be acknowledged, so I started acting out, being a clown. Loneliness is one of the worst things people can feel, and I did anything to make it go away. But you're different than me Naruto, you're stronger than I ever was. You didn't need to act out or make a fool of yourself, you just lived each day to the next. I'm proud that I could've been your teacher." At first he thought his words had worked, as Naruto started to slowly get up, but Mizuki blew everything away with his next sentence.

"HAHAHAHA! Enough with the lies already Iruka. You just stopped me from finishing this demon off so you could kill it yourself!" Iruka saw Naruto's eyes lose all hope. Now they were just blue pits. Finally, pain overwhelmed him, and he collapsed to the ground. Mizuki jumped down and pulled the shuriken out of his back. "Now, where were we." He raised the shuriken over his head, silhouetting it in the moonlight. He brought it down, one of the prongs, aimed to go right through Naruto's head. However, just before the deed could be carried out something stopped him. Surrounding Naruto was a dome of chakra, holding the shuriken in place no matter how hard he forced it down.

_What the hell?! The only time I've ever seen something like this was from the Hyūga._ Naruto slowly stood up, blue chakra still swirling around him.

"Shut up okay," he said. Naruto's head still faced the ground, but his eyes pointed at the lying bastard in front of him. When a person looks at you with nothing but hate and refuses to acknowledge your existence, their eyes are frighteningly cold. However, Naruto's eyes were the exact opposite. His blue eyes now only held only the deepest rage and hate, fully acknowledging what Mizuki had done, and wanting to kill him a thousand times over for it. The silver-haired chunin pulled away from the chakra dome, causing it to disappear. Naruto slowly formed the cross hand seal and said under his breath, "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu." All around him, hundred's of solid clones appeared, each with that powerful stare.

_He actually managed to learn an A-ranked kinjutsu? How? Earlier today he couldn't even make one regular clone._

"Finish him." All of the clones rushed at Mizuki, intending to land as many fatal blows as possible. Mizuki managed to destroy some of the clones, but it was all in vain. These clones were perfect copies of their master: rage filled, instinct driven, animals. Within minutes, most of the bones in the traitor's limbs were broken. He lay in a heap, battered, bruised, and bloodied. All of the clones dispersed, and Naruto walked up to the lying bastard, kunai held in hand. Normally, he would've hesitated, had second thoughts, or simply just flinch, but this time, he brought the kunai up with unyielding grace. He tightened his grip as he planned to drive it through his old sensei's throat. But before he could, "Naruto stop!" The blond turned his head to find Iruka with his hand outstretched. "Don't, it's over. You aren't a demon, but you will be a monster if you kill him like this. Please help me." Somewhat reluctantly, Naruto loosened his grip on the kunai. He walked over to his sensei. But when he grabbed his hand, Mizuki's words ran through his mind.

_HAHAHAHA! Enough with the lies already Iruka. You just stopped me from finishing this demon off so you could kill it yourself!_ Before Iruka could pull himself up, Naruto knocked him out with a punch square to the left temple. Tears flowed unhindered as Naruto grabbed the giant scroll and ran off. Before he fully lost consciousness, Iruka muttered only one word, "Naruto."

* * *

Naruto had no idea where he was going, except that it was going to be far away from the village. How could Sarutobi-jii-san never tell him this? Why would he never tell him this? Was it some form of sick punishment, letting the village get back at the monster that attacked them? Suddenly, his path was stopped by several ANBU. In his rage, he blindly charged at one of them. But these guys were ANBU for a reason. Before Naruto knew anything, a cat-masked ANBU with purple hair knocked him out cold.

* * *

The next morning, Naruto woke up, but found that he couldn't move his arms or his legs. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw that his jacket was hanging on a rack, and he was bound with tight leather straps with chakra suppression seals all over his arms, effectively giving him the strength of an average civilian. "Hello? Someone? Where am I?" He frantically called out. About ten minutes later, Sarutobi came in through the door. He calmly walked up next to the bed and took a seat in the chair next to it.

"I expect you want answers right?"

"Hell yes I do! That bastard Mizuki, is what he said true?!" Though most of his voice was laced with anger, a small bit of it contained dread, fearing if the answer was what Mizuki had claimed it was.

"Are you a demon? No, you and the Kyūbi are two separate entities. He's the demon, you are human." For a second, Naruto calmed down, but then he remembered his other questions.

"Was it the Fourth who sealed the Kyūbi into me?"

Sarutobi let out a sigh; he really needed a smoke. "Yes. Please understand Naru-"

"Understand? Understand! That bastard cursed my life when I wasn't even a day old! Everyone always praises him while they treat me like shit! How's that fair?!" These words stung Sarutobi in all sorts of painful ways. After all, it always hurt when a child curses their parents.

"Naruto, the Fourth never intended for you to live the way you do. In fact, it was his dying wish that the villagers saw you as a hero for holding back the Kyūbi."

"And look how that turned out. Why wouldn't you tell me about this? I'm the damn prison after all."

"I didn't think that you could handle the pressure of such a burden. I believed that if you remained ignorant of that knowledge, you'd have some semblance of a normal life."

"And what about the villagers, how come they got to know?"

"I didn't tell the villagers directly. However, I reported your container status to the shinobi council and several high ranking jonin. Unfortunately, they were too blinded by hate, and told the villagers. The decree Mizuki told you about, it specifically stated that no one who didn't already know about you was to be told of the Kyūbi Affair."

"And so I could make friends with kids my own age, right?"

"Yes, but-"

"But the bastard villagers were too stubborn to see me as anything other than a demon." It wasn't to hard to figure out where this conversation was heading.

"Naruto, I can understand that you are angry, and no, I do not see you as the demon, or simply as a weapon, I see you as someone who's gone through great suffering, but is able to come out of it stronger."

At hearing these words, Naruto didn't know whether he should've still been angry at the Hokage or not. "Jii-san, can you please let me out of this, I just wanna go home."

"Of course." First he deactivated the seals on Naruto's arms, then cut the straps loose with a kunai. Right before the young boy left, though, the aged Hokage stopped him. "Oh, also, I wanted to give you this myself." It was a blue cloth. On it was a metal strip that had the leaf insignia carved into it. "I know that this is a lot to take in, but I hope you won't do anything rash." Hiruzen walked with the young man back to his apartment. Even though it was early in the morning, there was no doubt that last night's fiasco had made its rounds of the village, and without the Hokage seen next to the boy, the villagers, both civilian and shinobi, would undoubtedly give him trouble. When he was safely in his apartment and the ANBU were watching over him, he took his leave back to the red tower.

"I really wish you'd have let me talk to him," Iruka said as Hiruzen was about to enter his office. He had bandages wrapped around his head and more underneath his clothes.

"Iruka, I wasn't even sure if letting him know that it was your headband I gave him was a good idea. I understand that you have no ill intentions towards him, but Mizuki's actions severely shattered his trust in both of us. I wouldn't be surprised if he hates the village for the rest of his life after this." Iruka couldn't think of a response to that.

_End flashback_

Ever since that day, Naruto had gone out of his way to avoid contact with Iruka. The chunin knew that the genin needed to sort out his emotions, but it pained him every minute seeing his favorite student go to such lengths.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Hello. I just wanted to say that this chapter got away from me pretty quickly. I originally intended for this chapter to deal with the training month between the second and third part of the exams. The flashback was only supposed to be like four to six paragraphs long at the most, but it ended up dominating the whole chapter. Well, at least I got the Scroll Affair out of the way. Hope it wasn't too cliché for some of you.

P.S. On a side note, there won't be any preliminaries, it'll be too boring. And yes, I will have a legitimate reason for it; or if you're just cool with that and don't really give a shit, that's cool too.


End file.
